From the Depths of Insanity
by iSnapple
Summary: GOING TO BE REMADE! READ CHAPTER 12 FOR MORE INFORMATION!
1. Confrontation

A nimble shadow traced the walls of the prison, occasionally stopping by the bars of a few cells. A shorter shadow followed, running behind the other in an attempt to catch up to it. The walls were lined with grime and soot from the flames hanging on them to keep the halls alight, the floor basically made from dirt and blood rather than stone. It's a wonder none of the guards put the flames out just so they wouldn't have to look at the horrible scene.

"Alright, I know you're the Fire Lord and you can do whatever the hell you damn well feel like doing, but why are you running?" the shorter shadow asked, annoyed and curiously. "It's not that important, is it?"

"Toph, if it wasn't important, I wouldn't be running," the young Fire Lord responded, irritated. "You basically just answered your own question with a question," he added.

"But why is it so important?" Toph asked, finally catching up with Zuko.

"It just is," Zuko answered, sighing impatiently. He ran straight past a cell, guarded heavily with what he thought was probably six guards from his short run by. He had seen something in the cell and no doubt it was who he was looking for. Stopping abruptly, his partner in crime ran right into him, knocking them both over onto the bloodied floor.

"Aw, gross!" Toph exclaimed, jumping to her feet immediately. Even the master of un-cleanliness hated the floors. Just imagine having to run barefoot on them constantly. But rather her feet than her face. Zuko growled and got to his feet, angrily.

"Toph! What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, irritably.

"It wasn't my fault!" she defended, wiping the gunk off her face. "Y_ou're _the one who stopped and forgot to tell me!"

"I thought you could tell with your vibration-bending!"

"I could, but these floors are too damn slippery! And what the hell?! Vibration-bending?" Toph asked, jabbing a finger at her friend's chest, pointedly.

Zuko's mouth opened to say something, but he shut it before anything came out. He rolled his eyes, angrily, and took in a deep breath. "Whatever, just…leave it."

"Whatever, Sparky," Toph said, dropping the issue immediately. Zuko started walking normal speed back towards _her _cell and Toph followed, eventually walking right beside him. Within moments, they had reached the cell.

The cell was basically double-barred. There was a transparent wall made of bars, showing two guards in front of a bar door which lead into a matching set, only with four guards instead of two. The second door was made of solid steel and the surrounding walls were too, but there were two large, narrow-barred windows on each side of the door, showing the broken figure inside.

Zuko stared at the first door with a look of guilt and nerves in his eyes. He started breathing deeply, probably the best choice for his own well-being, shutting his golden eyes. Toph noticed his attempt at trying to calm down and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be alright, Sparky," Toph comforted. "She probably didn't even notice you were late. And besides…she can't do anything, so what's your problem?"

"You know how emotional she is nowadays…she could take the shortest silence and turn it into a "you hate me" issue," Zuko said, opening his bloodshot eyes. "But that really wouldn't be strange…she turns everything into a "you hate me" issue," he added, looking down at his boots.

Toph sighed, annoyed at _her_ behavior, and said, "Don't let her drag you down. You're the proud leader of the Fire Nation, you redeemed your nation, now I want to see you start acting like it—Don't let anyone drag you and your honor down."

"Thank you, Toph," Zuko muttered with his raspy voice.

"No prob, Sparky," Toph responded, slugging the Fire Lord on his armored limb. Zuko flinched at her touch, but he relaxed almost instantly and gave her a smile that basically told her to give him something encouraging. Toph gave him a heartening smile and a pat on the back before shoving him against the cell door.

"Ow," Zuko gasped. Toph smuggled a laugh and settled with a smirk and a hand on her hip. The Fire Lord regained his posture before glancing at the guards who were bowing at his feet. At his words, they got to their feet and allowed his entry.

"Good luck, Sparky!" Toph called after him as the guards shut the door. Zuko sighed and looked up at the second door. He knew it was coming and he knew it was coming in details. Very, very blurry details. He calmed himself down with the deepest deep breath he could imagine before he approached the guards.

"Greetings, Sir," the guards greeted unconditionally. Zuko nodded in advance before he glanced at the door. The guards took his message and, with a slight warning preserved for the young lord, opened the metal door…Zuko couldn't help but add on "to my doom" with a stiff chuckle.

--

It'd been three years since Fire Lord Ozai had been defeated. The world being peaceful once more, Aang went to the South Pole with Katara, Sokka, and Suki. Zuko had yet to hear from them, but he had heard rumors about a little baby on the way. He smiled when he heard this. At least the Avatar was living an unregretful life.

As for Toph? Well, she had grown. Not only mentally, but physically as well. Her hips had rounded out and became more obvious, along with another woman feature that Zuko blushed upon mention. Her hair grew out until it had actually reached her belly button, but she didn't cut it like Zuko had expected. She merely put it in the normal style and parted her bangs, tucking one side behind her ear. But she had also gotten wiser than ever. Some even compare her to Uncle Iroh nowadays. But she only uses it when she needs to.

Uncle Iroh. He stayed in Ba Sing Se when Zuko and Toph, and not to mention Mai, left for the Fire Nation. Zuko's heard rumors of the Jasmine Dragon becoming famous even in the South Pole where hardly any news reaches, even now that the war is over. Zuko smiles every time at the thought of his uncle, fat and happy, serving tea again.

Mai…Zuko always smiles upon mention of her. The love of his life, Mai…Fire Lady Mai, if he went into technicality. But they weren't married yet. He had been too nervous to even ask for her hand in an eternal bond. In actuality, it quite scared him to even think about being bound to something forever, even Mai. Mai had pretty much stayed the same, with the exception of a hell lot more smiles and laughs. But that only made him love her even more, even though that was pretty much impossible.

Ty Lee went to Kyoshi Island. That's all Zuko knows nowadays, even with the constant letters she sends him. Apparently, she still considers him a friend even though his sister had manipulated her into being a forced "buddy" as she liked to call them. Zuko never writes back unless he feels he needs to.

As for himself…well, he's still confused as hell. His hair grew out a lot after the first month of peace, but Mai convinced him into cutting it again. It's now routine to cut it, even though he isn't too fond of trusting the blades master with a pair of scissors, no matter how much he loves said blades master. Luckily for him, he only needs to endure this once or twice a month, depending on Mai's mood.

All in all…things should be alright…right? Zuko found himself wondering things like such almost constantly, thinking so hard he actually deconstructed his mind down to such a level of confusion that he was having trouble even understanding the cruelty of his _Father_ at times. Sometimes, he would just force himself to pass out on the floor because off all this confusion.

--

Zuko heard Toph trying to encourage him from the outside walls, but this did nothing to calm him down. He was about to face a _monster_—no...She's not a monster. Zuko had to keep telling himself the same thing over and over again to keep him from running. Zuko sighed at his confusion before slipping inside the _cage_. He was thinking about renaming cells to cages, just looking at the things.

"Azula?" he called out, cautiously. He knew she was chained up and had almost a zero percent chance of attacking him ever since the Avatar took her bending away, but that didn't stop his heart from beating a million leagues a second. There was nothing but Toph's words echoing in his head. Not even the slightest movement from the pile on the floor. Zuko stared at what was his sister for the longest time, trying to get his mind to grasp onto the fact that this…_thing _was a living human being.

_Zuko! _he scolded himself. _What's happened to yourself? She's still your sister and you should still treat her as such, not referring to her as a _thing_! _

"Azula?" he tried again. When there was still no response, Zuko became frustrated. He took in another deep breath and approached his sister. He knelt down and looked at the top of Azula's head—the only thing he could see, seeing as she was doubled over, her hands in chains that where pulling her arms towards the walls. He stared at her for a moment or so before sliding a finger underneath her chin and lifting her face up to look at, already knowing what he would see from daily visits.

What was once a literally _perfect _face and _perfectly_ pulled up hair and _perfect _golden eyes and all around just _perfectly Azula_ was now nothing more than a tormented rag doll. Her once bright and intimidating golden eyes were now weary and thoughtful aged golden eyes. They seemed to have lost their "Azula touch" to them…nothing more than dirty gold orbs, staring lifelessly at anything put before them. Zuko found that he couldn't pull his eyes away from them.

Azula's hair was dirty and her bangs, although defiantly grown out, were unevenly cut, no doubt from before her coronation. It reached down to her thighs now, if not longer. It was frizzy and strands were sticking out in odd directions, blood matted in the back where she had been sleeping on. Zuko found multiple knots her mane. He couldn't help but at least think about trying to unknot it all, just to get her hair's dignity back.

His eyes traveled down to her slightly parted lips. The red ghost of lipstick hung over them from Zuko's memory as he tried to compare what had happened to them, still just to get a grip of what had happened to his little sister and what happened to her during her time in prison. Her lips were chapped and cracked, a cut on the left side of the bottom one, dried and cracked blood covering the small and minor injury on his sister's mouth. His thumb traveled absentmindedly from her chin to the cut.

Suddenly, Azula's eyes seemed to gain focus. In an instant, Zuko saw that her pupils were far too small for her irises and felt a pang of paranoia and worry flood his system. Her lips snapped shut and her eyebrows knotted together in an unidentified emotion. The bags underneath her eyes became apparent as she blinked and seemed to have trouble opening them.

"Azula," Zuko said, more for his own sanity than his sister's. Suddenly, a scream ripped from Azula's pale and cracked lips, piercing his ears and sending a chill down his spine. But he didn't pull away nor pull his hand away from her mouth. In fact, he actually leaned in closer in hopes to calm her down. She started shaking and trying to rack herself free from her chains, her eyes suddenly cloudy. Zuko instantly felt like he was causing all this and that did nothing to help his nerves. "Azula," he said, firmly and louder than her screams. She suddenly stopped screaming and her eyes cleared up. But Zuko could tell she wasn't mentally back yet. Just for the moment.

"Zuko," Azula said, emotionlessly. Pants escaped her chapped lips and Zuko began to wonder if she even noticed how close he was. Her irises seemed to be shaking as she looked at him, her eyes darting from one feature to another on his face in mere seconds.

"Do…do you remember me?" Zuko asked, suddenly feeling very stupid for asking this. He was also surprised he didn't say her name again. He mentally banged his head on the wall. _She just said my name, of course she remembers me! _Azula merely blinked and stared on in his eyes for so long Zuko had to break the contact otherwise he would've surely melted under her undying gaze.

"Zuko…Zu-Zu," Azula muttered, as though just remembering everything.

"That's right," Zuko ushered her. He always did the same thing, everyday for Azula always did the same. He felt it would get her used to at least something and that would be a big breakthrough with her. He was suddenly very fond of his nickname. He stroked her bloodied lip with his thumb in a brotherly gesture, trying to comfort his insane sister. He removed his hand a couple moments later and saw that Azula's gaze had left his face and was now on his hand. He felt a faint smile tug at his lips.

"What do you want?" Azula suddenly asked, gaining her old confident and intimidation voice back. Her eyes narrowed as they looked over the Fire Lord. Zuko suddenly felt like he got her back, but he knew that was wrong. And even if it wasn't, it probably wasn't any better than being insane.

"I want to talk to you," Zuko said, truthfully. He was instantly reminded of why he came here in the first place.

"You're late," Azula stated. "But like I care," she added, looking over his head at the wall with sudden interest. A silent moment passed and she brought her golden gaze back down to her older brother. "Why'd you stop? You know, I bet you probably only came here to rub that crown in my face. That crown should have been mine!" Her eyes suddenly widened as her pupils shrunk again. Zuko winced. The yelling would come in about…now.

"Azul—"

"NO! THAT CROWN SHOULD'VE BEEN MINE! I SHOULD'VE BEEN THE GREATEST FIRE LORD IN HISTORY! BUT NO! YOU CAME AND DESTROYED IT ALL WITH THAT WATER TRIBE BITCH!" She was practically roaring flames. Zuko was sure she would've been if Aang hadn't taken her bending away. Azula got as close to Zuko as she could with the chains on her and began screaming at the top of her lungs, trying to get at him. But he was just out of reach.

"AZULA!" Zuko yelled, grabbing Azula by the chin. Azula stopped screaming and, eyes wide, started panting from the lack of air. There was something in her eyes…something that was never there before…even as a child, Zuko noted. His eyes widened when he noticed what it was—Fear. He suddenly realized how fragile his sister was. He felt more guilty and horrible than ever and he could hardly stand it…he felt like running away right that second and never coming back. But he didn't.

Azula started making little short gasping noises and it took Zuko a while to realize that she was trying to keep from sobbing. His eyes softened and he softened his grip on her chin.

"Azula," he soothed. "Don't cry," he said, gently. This didn't seem to do anything, for the next second, tears were streaming down the Princess's face and her shoulders were shaking violently. Sobs were racking her entire body and before long…hiccups came. Zuko was positive this was making her frustrated. He put a hand on each of her cheeks and waited for her to calm down at least a little. In the progress, Zuko's right hand wandered upward a little into Azula's hair and tried to run his fingers through it, but they got caught.

"Stop," Azula whispered, suddenly ceasing her sobs. The tears still came, but Zuko was sure she was calming down. He pulled his hand out of her dirty hair and, in an attempt to look in her eyes, lowered himself down a little so he could see her hung face. He found her eyes, liquid gold and betrayed. He knew he once had that look in his eyes…when he was a refugee.

"Azula…please stop crying," Zuko pleaded. He knew if she didn't, he'd probably be ripped apart with guilt and other mixed emotions. He knew Azula should be in jail and she deserved all this…but part of him felt like she didn't. Like she should be living peacefully in the new world. It pained him to see her crying, especially since the only time he had ever seen her cry, besides when she was a baby and crying was pretty much a necessity, was when Katara chained her to the grate.

Another chilling shriek escaped Azula's lips and Zuko felt the urge to weld her mouth shut. An urge, nothing more. He pushed the feeling away with ease and slight disgust at himself before grabbing Azula and pulling her into his arms in a desperate attempt to get her to be quite. He felt sort of like a child does when said child is left with a baby and the baby starts crying. He wants to help, but, being unknowing, can't.

"Let go of me!" Azula demanded, chilling his blood with the intensity and the way it seemed like Azula's throat was bleeding. Zuko shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. He tightened his grip on her and put his hand on the back of her head, feeling suddenly very sad and protective of her. "LET GO OF ME, DAMN IT!"

"Azula, please…I'm trying to help you!" Zuko yelled, his voice shaking. Azula sobbed and went limp in his arms.

"I don't need help…I don't." Azula repeated this for what seemed like forever, but to Zuko's luck…she didn't start screaming again. All she did was mutter things to herself and cry over things Zuko had forgotten, never resisting his embrace. Before long, Azula's muttering became hardly audible. A strained scream came, but Azula seemed to realize that her throat couldn't handle it and shut her mouth almost instantly. Her mutterings became incomprehensible rambles before long and Zuko realized she was almost asleep. A newly found smile on his face, Zuko let her fall asleep on him, her head resting on his shoulder. She needed the sleep, Zuko knew this.

"I'm so sorry, Azula," he whispered in her ear. "I should've loved you unconditionally like Father should have. Even though you think Mother doesn't love you, I know she does. She only thought that our whack Father would give you the love you needed…she never would've thought he would turn you into a weapon. So I'm here now to tell you something…" He took in a shaky breath and steadied his voice. "I love you, Azula. I really do. And I know that if you give me the chance, I could be the big brother you deserved.

"Toph thinks there's no chance for you…but I know that she's wrong. You have a chance to be sane and happy in this world. And I'm going to give you that chance. I know you might not like it, but you're going to go to a mental institute. I don't really like this idea, but I can't really do anything about it. You can write if you want to. You probably won't, but…you should know you can if you feel like it." Zuko ran his hand up and down her back for a moment before slowly getting to his feet, trying not to wake his sister up.

"Zuko," she grunted, eyebrows flinching as her eyes slowly opened. Zuko scowled at himself for waking her up, but she didn't scream like he expected her to do. She seemed pretty sane, but an insane laugh suddenly overcame her and she reached an ear-piercing note. Zuko stood up, not-so-reluctant to leave anymore.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Azula." Azula seemed to ignore him, but Zuko wasn't quite ready to leave just yet. He wanted to see if he could try something without her freaking out on him. Which was _not _guaranteed, but he still wanted to try it anyhow. "Azula."

"What is it, Zu-Zu?!" Azula snapped, looking angry and annoyed. She snorted in laughter the next second and she hung herself forward, the chains keeping her from face planting on the ground, laughing harder than Zuko had seen anyone ever laugh. "Oh, hello! I didn't know you were here!"

"I'll leave soon, but I need to do something first," Zuko said, nervously. Azula stared at him, suddenly silent as though she had forgotten the reason she had been laughing in the first place…she probably did, now that Zuko thought about. Zuko shook Azula's mental well-being from his mind as he knelt down in front of her, confused and curious golden eyes following his every move.

"What are doing?" Azula asked with a sort of scared and unprepared tint to her normally confident voice. Zuko merely stared at her with something the clever, insane, fallen Princess couldn't identify. He put a warm and gentle hand on her cheek and looked her in the eyes with more unidentifiable emotions. "Zuko! Answer me!" Azula demanded, more scared than she could ever recall being…well, except for—

"Hush, Azula," Zuko whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you." He put his other hand on her back and brought her frail body into his strong arms. He closed his eyes for a couple moments or so before releasing her.

"Why…why did you do that?" Azula asked, bewildered.

"Because, Azula…I—"

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT! IT'S A LIE! YOU'RE A LIE! MOTHER WAS A LIAR AND YOU APPARENTLY TAKE AFTER HER!" Zuko resisted to the urge to say, 'And what does that make you?'

"No, Azula," he said, slowly. "I do. I really do." Azula sobbed and shook her head, lowering her gaze to the floor. Another bloodcurdling scream left her parched lips and this time…Zuko didn't think Azula cared all too much about damaging her throat.

--

"So, Sparky, how'd it go?" Toph questioned the instant the Fire Lord walked out of the cell and into the hall. Zuko knew she already knew exactly what happened in details, but he also knew he would have to _tell her_ in details. For Toph loved to embarrass people.

"You know what happened, Toph," Zuko said, irritably.

"Ooo, someone's grouchy," Toph noted.

"Not now, Toph," Zuko said, simply. Toph pursed her lips, unhappily. Toph, the master of earth and metal, could not get the master of pouts and candles to kneel at her feet and give her details! Toph was not happy.

"Well, could you at least tell me why your so grumpy?" the fifteen-year-old asked. She knew this time she would get her answer. Maybe not with details and probably without the embarrassment, but answers nonetheless. Toph would soon be very, very happy with the control of Candle Lord in her hands. Toph was still obsessing over the whole "Melon Lord" thing back at the day of the comet.

"Because—!" Zuko stopped himself from yelling and took in a deep irritable breath. "Because she doesn't even trust me. I know she probably shouldn't, but it still bothers me. And she thinks I lied to her about…" Zuko stopped, blushing. He didn't know why he stopped or why he was blushing since he knew Toph knew what happened, but it was natural for him. Or so he thought.

"…Loving her?" Toph finished for him. Zuko nodded, the blush disappearing. "Well, I see why. Not that I'm saying you're a horrible brother, but she didn't exactly grow up with hugs and kisses and rainbows. She has a right to think you were lying. If what you told her was right, then how could she even consider trying to love you? The poor girl probably doesn't even know what real love is. Probably thinks it's a type of manipulation of some sort."

"Toph…you're too wise for your own fucking good, you know that?"

"Yup," Toph agreed, a smug smile on her face. The smile dropped and a look of inevitability overcame her pale features. "You're going to hug me again, aren't you?"

"Yup." Zuko pulled the short Melon Lord into his arms and practically lifted her off the ground, seeing as how tall he is nowadays. Toph over exaggerated being "choked" and Zuko, being the nice Fire Lord he is, let go of her. "You know, you get so many hugs from people, it's a wonder you're not mistaken for a stuffed turtle duck."

"Shove it, Sparky," Toph commanded, shoving Zuko over onto the floor. Her pale cheeks were flushed rosy pink, but her long hair hid most of it along with the bad lighting. For as you know, Melon Lord Toph does not blush. She dominates the earth with her cantaloupes of doom.


	2. Solution

"Zuko, do you really think this is the right idea? I mean…you think you can trust her outside of those bars?" the Melon Lord questioned the Candle Lord skeptically. Zuko merely ignored her as he stared at a painting of his Mother. "Yo, Sparky!" Toph yelled, trying to get his attention, punching him on the arm. Zuko jumped and looked up at her.

"What?!" he asked, annoyed. Toph rolled her eyes and, crossing her arms, paced around her nineteen-year-old partner in crime. She poked him in the back of the head once behind him, but eventually stopped pacing in front of him. She bent over, hands gripping the arms of his chair leaving him trapped, her face inches from his.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"Do what?" Zuko asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Do you really want to have Azula live in the palace?" Toph asked again, clearer on the subject. "I know you want her to know you love her and that she can trust you, but do you think you should risk your life for it?"

"Toph, I'm almost as guilty as I was after I betrayed my Uncle. I'd rather die trying than living as a regretful bastard," Zuko explained, trying to push the master Earthbender out of his face. Toph didn't move. She only hardened the look on her face. "Toph, please. I'll be fine."

"That's what you told me before you went off and got shot by lightning on the day of the comet, Sparky," Toph said, angrily. "You were most certainly _not_ fine and you were _expecting_ it the last time. But this time, you won't be! Imagine what could happen to you this time! You could _die_, Zuko."

"I'm aware of that, Toph," Zuko said, blandly.

"Then why would you go through with it?!" Toph yelled, frustrated.

"Because I can't live with myself!" Zuko yelled. "She's my only sister, Toph," he said, gentler. "If I don't try to help her, I'll have no one in my family left. Azula may be there physically, but so long as she remains insane, she might as well be dead. And as for my dad…well, he's pretty much the devil."

"And what does that make Azula?"

"My sister in disguise," Zuko replied. "Toph, please. You don't know what she's done to herself—she learned and reacted. When our Mother showed me more compassion and attention than her, she reacted. She went for our Father's love which was really nothing more than scheming. She thrived for his so-called "love" and did anything for it, even if it meant letting go of her sanity. She got herself stuck in a rut. She did as told so she wouldn't end up like me, banished and looking for a lost cause. She was aware of the consequences of disobeying…she learned it first hand," Zuko muttered the last part, looking down at his lap.

"Why? What happened?" Toph asked, suddenly interested. She sat down on his lap and stared sightlessly at his face. Zuko sighed and sat up fully, now that he could with Toph out of the way.

"Azula probably doesn't even know I know this…but I figured it out while talking to my dad in his prison cell," Zuko explained beforehand. "He told me that whenever she did something wrong, even in a lesson when her foot slipped, she would be sent to her room for a couple hours. During that time…" Zuko shook his head. "He violated her and abused her physically and mentally."

"That bastard!" Toph yelled. "How could he do that do his _daughter_?!"

"Same way he did this to his son," Zuko responded, pointing at his scar. Toph quirked an eyebrows and it dawned on Zuko that she didn't know about his scar, being blind and all. He sighed and grabbed her hand, pulling it up to his left eye. Toph's expression remained the same until she actually started feeling around his scar with her fingers. It changed from unknowing to shock and then eventually anger and sorrow.

"And when did this happen?" Toph asked, enraged.

"About six years ago," Zuko replied. Toph shook her head, bangs falling over her unseeing pale green eyes. She put a slender hand on her forehead and suddenly felt as if Azula was a fallen angel in need of new wings. In a way, she was. Her spirit was broke, as was her mind. Mind and spirit work hand in hand and when both are gone or handicapped…well, everything else gets tormented.

"Your Father is whack," Toph announced. "No, he's _more_ than whack. I can't even think up a name for it. And I'm pretty damn sure there isn't an already existing word for it. He's just…"

"Evil?"

"YES!" Toph exclaimed, exasperated.

"I know," Zuko said, solemnly. "I just wish Azula hadn't had to deal with him during those three years I was gone, looking for Aang. But I've noticed something…he didn't seem to bother her too much when I was around, but…the second I left, the beatings and rapes picked up. It's like he was actually thinking I was a possible threat to all that. What the hell could I do even if I was there?! I was just a teenager!" Tears pricked at his eyes.

"I know, Sparky," Toph soothed, sensing his slip. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and was almost shocked when a sob racked his body. In a way she was somewhat expecting it, but at the same time she was expecting him to lash out in anger instead. Sighing to calm herself, Toph embraced her best friend and let him cry on her shoulder.

"I couldn't do anything…I should've but I didn't and I failed her, Toph," Zuko sobbed in the hem of her shirt. "I failed my little sister and now I'm paying for it…I deserve all this. I really do, Toph."

"No you don't, Sparky," Toph told him, calmly with an air of authority surrounding her. She patted him on the back and said as the hiccups racked his body, "You couldn't do anything. The only thing you could possibly do if get beat up by that evil bastard for trying to help her. And you weren't even there…you weren't conscious of it until after the war. There was no way you could've helped."

There was a strategy to Toph. No matter what the situation, it was the same and it always worked. Break someone down and reconstruct them with confidence and will-power. No matter what, it always worked. Toph figured this a couple months after the war ended when Aang was beginning to get doubts about regaining peace in the world.

"Maybe, but…"

"But what, Sparky?" Toph challenged with a smirk on her face. _But nothing. That's what. _She chuckled and ruffled his hair as he started taking in deep breaths. "That's what I thought."

"You smell funny," Zuko suddenly stated.

"I'm a girl, we all smell funny to guys," Toph explained, laughing. Zuko soon joined in her laughing. Before long, they were pulling sarcastic comments once more, Zuko now more confident than ever…especially since Toph had let go of him at some point and got up off of him.

"But are you sure you want to help her this certain way?" Toph asked. Zuko blinked and actually started thinking about it. If he let her stay with him in the palace, there's a chance she could start to calm down and trust him. But there's also the chance she could murder him, unexpectedly.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Zuko asked, irritated and confused.

"I don't know…she's your sister, not mine," Toph stated. Zuko sighed and put his thumbs on his temples. He hung his head over and shut his eyes, desperately trying to find a different way. Toph sighed. "Alright, here's the deal, Sparks."

"What deal?" Zuko asked, suspiciously, looking up at his friend.

"I'll help you figure out what to do with her, but after that, your on your own," Toph said, a confident smile on her face. "Tell me what you _don't _want for her and I'll try to find something that fits that agenda." A grin broke out across Zuko's face.

"Thank you, Toph—"

"Don't even think about hugging me again," Toph interrupted. Zuko scoffed.

"I don't hug you that much, do I?" Zuko asked.

"Not normally, but in the past two days, you've given me at least five," Toph replied, dully. "And to be honest…it's freaking me out. Not even my parents gave me that many." Zuko laughed.

"Five?"

"In two days. You're the only one, Sparky." Zuko shrugged.

"Whatever, Melon Lord," Zuko said, smirking. Toph grinned.

--

"Alright, so…you don't want her out of your sight because you're afraid she might react negatively to being around strangers. And you don't want her to have to stay in jail." Toph put her fist at her chin as she sat down on the stone shelf at the base of the fireplace. "And you don't want her to be chained up constantly." Toph was officially puzzled. The only thing she could think of was a mental institute, but that confided with the first and possibly the last thing Zuko didn't want for his sister.

"I got it!" Zuko suddenly yelled. Toph looked up, happily and anxious, but the next second, "Never mind. That was a really stupid plan." Toph groaned and nearly pushed herself back into the fireplace out of frustration. Toph racked her mind for anything they could do with Azula…and then it hit her.

"I got it, Sparky!" Zuko gave her an annoyed look. "No, really!" Zuko's eyebrows shot up and he ran over to the Melon Lord. Toph got to her feet and punched her fist in the air before saying, "Why don't you just make a custom mental institute? Here in the Fire Nation. Like…right here. In the palace."

"What would that do?"

"Well, she wouldn't have to be surrounded by strangers since she's probably still used to all the servants you have around here and if it's here in the palace, you'll be able to see her everyday if you wanted to!" Toph explained. "Let her stay in her room at nights and whenever she goes to sleep or whatever and have a couple guards make sure she doesn't try anything, and when it's time for her to get out of the room…well, I think you can make up the rest."

"Holy…" Zuko's jaw was probably hanging about a foot. Sometimes, Toph's mind was as confusing as how his Uncle could drink so much tea. "How'd…? What…?" And then, a plan formed in Zuko's mind from Toph's starter idea. Zuko grinned from ear to ear.

"Please don't hug me again," Toph pleaded in a not-so-pleading tone. Zuko laughed and, ignoring her, picked her up into his arms. "I…told you…Sparky," Toph choked out, trying in vain to get him to let go. She suddenly kicked him in the shin and was dropped to the floor. "Ahhh."

"Damn it, Toph," Zuko scolded, dropping to the floor, grasping his shin.

"I warned you, Sparks."

"That you did," Zuko said, almost angrily. "Thanks, anyway."

"You're getting on my nerves, Sparky," Toph stated


	3. Realization of the Hypocrite

The shadows on the prison walls returned once again, except this time the first and taller shadow was practically jumping with anxiety and excitement. The other, we all know and love as Melon Lord Toph…not so much. Time passed on, almost proving deadly to the Fire Lord, and soon they had reached the Princess's cell.

"Ready, Sparky?" Toph asked, smirking. Zuko ignored her, not wanting to say anything rude out of his nervous state, and told the guards to let them in. Toph started to get nervous the second she stepped through the first door. She could feel the vibrations Azula was making, even though they were small. She felt the Princess's emotions clearer than before when outside, waiting for Zuko, and it almost made her start to wonder how she got that way. But she remembered what Zuko told her and immediately started cussing and apologizing in her head.

"Are you ready?" Zuko asked, glancing over his shoulder at Toph. Toph nodded, curtly, and waved her hand to tell him to just open the damn door. Zuko nodded out of habit and held his hand up, telling the guards to open the door for him and Toph. The guards followed the order and bowed their heads as they walked into the cell.

Toph nearly ran back outside at the stench inside the cell. She almost instantly identified the smell as fresh and old blood. Zuko didn't seem to be affected by it, so she followed him over to the dainty woman chained to the walls. Toph stomped her foot slightly to get a good vibration and felt the chains tied to Azula's hands, tightly. She knew they kept her from lashing out with her hands. She also felt chains at the Princess's ankles, keeping them on the floor.

"Azula," Zuko called out, attentively. Azula shook, visibly. She had heard him. "Hey, squirt." Toph nearly laughed. Hearing Zuko call someone 'squirt' was hilarious, but knowing he called _Azula_ 'squirt' was just…wow. Toph heard Azula growled something, but it probably wasn't all that bad since Zuko merely laughed and knelt down in front of her.

Zuko was in a brighter mood for sure. Even he noticed his upbeat behavior. He tipped her face upward to look at her like he always did when he visited and almost smiled at the sight. Azula's eyes seemed to have regained normal posture instead of too-big irises and her face was obviously cleaner than it was the day before. His first thought was, _She really is beautiful. _His second thought was, _But who cleaned her face up?_

"What are you doing here, Zu-Zu?" Azula snarled. "Haven't tormented me enough, yet?"

"Azula, I haven't done anything to torment you."

"Yes, you have!" Azula argued.

"When?" Zuko questioned.

"Yesterday!" Zuko blinked and quirked an eyebrow.

"Azula, the only thing I did yesterday was talk to you an—"

"Wrong! The only thing you did yesterday was—"

"What? What did I do?" Zuko asked, agitated. Azula glared at him and shook her head, lowering it at the same time. Toph felt like she was intruding, but she didn't leave anyhow. "That's what I thought."

"Go away," Azula said, shakily. Zuko's gaze softened and he lifted her face up again. She put up a struggle, but it was weak and easily overpowered by Zuko. Her eyes were puffy and red and Zuko knew she was about to cry.

"Azula, I didn't come her to torment you," he assured her. "I didn't do anything wrong to you yesterday or any of the days I've come to visit you. No matter what you think, I didn't. I've come here to tell you that—"

"That you love me, right?" Azula glowered.

"That's not why I came here, Azula. I do love you, but—"

"But what?" Azula snarled.

"But I came here to tell you that I'm giving you a chance," Zuko said in a firm voice. Azula's eyes widened. "I'm letting you come back to the palace, but you're going to be watched around the clock by the highest of security. I'll give you the details later, but right now—"

Azula suddenly screamed, her eyes cloudy once more. Zuko tried to quiet her with words, but she only screamed louder and more painfully. Toph winced and covered her ears with her hands while Zuko shut his eyes and bowed his head, waiting for her to stop. Azula stopped after a couple moments to get a breath of air.

"Azula, please listen to me!" Zuko pleaded while Azula continued to gasp for air. Azula shook her head, violently, and tried once more to free herself from the chains. After a moment or so of that, she stopped and hung limply in the chains. Zuko went to say something, but—

"LEAVE ME ALONE, MOTHER! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I DON'T NEED YOU AND YOUR LIES! YOUR PATHETIC LIES! YOU LEFT ME FOR _ZU-ZU _SO DON'T EVEN TRY TO TELL ME YOU LOVE ME! BECAUSE YOU DON'T!" Zuko glanced at Toph who felt his sudden confusion and shrugged.

"Azula! I'm not Mother! I'm Zuko, remember?! Your brother! AZULA!" Zuko yelled, trying to get Azula to stop hallucinating. In the process, he had put his hands on the sides of her picture perfect face, trying to get her to stop jerking around. "Azula, please! Stop screaming! There's no reason for you to scream anymore, Azula!"

Toph froze, as did Azula. Apparently, both had noticed he said 'anymore' in that sentence. Toph knew Azula caught onto what he meant, being the clever seventeen-year-old she was.

"How'd you figure that out?" Azula asked, breathless and hardly above a whisper. Her voice was raspy and shaken, her body pulsing with anxiety and pain from revived memories.

"Father told me," Zuko responded, pulling his hands away. Azula's eyes widened, showing just how shrunken her pupils were. Tears strolled down her face and she started shaking, trying to jerk herself free again, and screaming. But this time, the screaming seemed more like a plead for help rather than what it normally was.

"HELP ME! GET HIM OFF! PLEASE!" Azula shrieked. Zuko's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "FATHER, PLEASE STOP! IT HURTS!" A wail escaped her lips as the tears suddenly brought on a new level, practically blinding her.

"Toph, what do I do?!" Zuko asked, desperately.

"How should I know?!" Toph asked rhetorically. She had found herself standing next to Zuko, a strange sense of panic and worry overcoming her. Neither one of them knew what to do, and as if it was bad enough already, both were about to join Azula in the screaming because of their frustration.

"Azula, stop! Nobody is on you!" Zuko told his sister, although he was sure she wasn't listening to him. "Father isn't even the room, Azula!" Azula continued to scream for help. Soon, both Zuko and Toph found themselves with tears in their eyes. "Azula, please," Zuko pleaded, shakily and desperately. He hung his head and put his face in his hands.

Toph felt a sense of leadership overcome her as she looked down at Zuko then at Azula. She got down on her knees and, putting a hand on Zuko's back, put her arm around Azula's shoulders, using her hand to pull the Princess's head onto her shoulder. _I don't even know her_, Toph noted to herself. This isn't what surprised the Melon Lord though.

Azula started sobbing instead of screaming. "It hurts, Mama…" she muttered. Toph's unseeing eyes widened. Instead of telling her what she wanted to, Toph merely rested her cheek on the Princess's head and rubbed her shoulder.

"Its okay, Azula," Toph assured her. Azula shuddered and wept, helplessly on the fifteen-year-old's shoulder. Zuko shook and Toph realized he was also crying. But a second later she also noted that she—Melon Lord Toph, master of earth, metal, and melons—was crying as well.

"No, it isn't," Azula sobbed.

"Zuko, get up here!" Toph commanded in a yell-whisper voice as she removed her head from Azula's. Zuko looked up at Toph and then at Azula. He almost said something out of shock, but he quieted himself and got up on his knees. He gave Toph a look, but Toph couldn't see it, so he merely wrapped his arm around Azula and rested his chin atop her head. Toph resisted the urge to yell "GROUP HUG!"

"Hush, Azula," Zuko soothed, rubbing her back. Toph withdrew herself slowly so Azula could adapt to the change. She did by switching to Zuko who gladly accepted her.

"Zu-Zu."

"Its okay, Azula," Zuko reassured her. "I'm here…" Azula sobbed and went limp. Zuko wrapped his other arm around her and shut his eyes. Oh how he wished he had his Azula back…the sane, happy one from his early childhood. It pained him to see her breakdown, especially after all the will-power she was almost always showing. He sighed. "I'm here."

--

"Azula?"

"What?" the Fire Nation Princess snapped, getting to her feet. She was utterly pissed off at everyone who now sat in her cell, mainly because they had even thought to touching her, more or less _hugging her_, and if it wasn't worse enough, when she was in a weakened state.

Zuko was sitting directly in front of her with a content look on his face while Toph was sitting next to him, hand on the metal floor. She was picking her toes with her other hand and Zuko was constantly reminded of how the old Toph remained in her still, even after all the bodily and mental changes she had undergone.

"I have come here for a reason…a proposition," Zuko responded.

"Oh?" she asked, a smirk appearing on her face. Zuko and Toph were both amazed at how fast her emotions and mood could change—one minute she could be screaming and crying her lungs and eyes out, the next she could be laughing ridiculously, and the next she could appear to have resorted to her old self.

"You should know why you're in here," Zuko said, carefully.

"Of course I do," Azula scoffed. "A life's worth of killing and manipulating would do well to get you in jail. No matter how lost you think I am, I still understand these things, you know."

"Then you…you know that…um—"

"You're crazy, Azula," Toph interrupted, pointing at the Princess with a slender finger. Zuko stared at her with a warning written all over his face. Zuko was going to tell her eventually, but Toph's bluntness of the matter made him feel a little angry at her. One could only imagine how animal-like Azula felt. But if she was feeling that way, she wasn't showing it.

"I'm well aware of that," she responded, not changing the look on her face or the tone of her voice. "You don't think I've noticed all these hallucinations and such. The screaming and crying ridiculously…You know _why_ I do all of those things?" Azula asked, dangerously. Zuko seemed to catch the tone of her last words, for his eyes narrowed.

"Why?" Toph asked, aloofly. Zuko shot her a glare, but as Azula was about to answer the Earthbender, he looked back up at her with a cautious look in his eyes.

"It's all because of Mother," she said, her voice dripping with venom and disrespect. It was quite apparent she was trying to get something out of her brother, even though all he did was continue to stare at her like she was about to rip free from her chains and murder everyone in the prison. Her smirk widened as a satisfactory noise emitted from behind closed lips.

"Why not your father?" Toph asked, again aloofly. Zuko slapped her arm. "What?!" she asked, putting a hand over the red mark on her arm. A look of realization overcame her. "Oh…uh, sorry?"

"Don't be sorry, _peasant_. You should be overwhelmed with mixed emotions for even knowing about my past and being in my presence," Azula said, smugly. Toph narrowed her unseeing eyes at being called a peasant and was about to whip out a rant about being the richest family in the Earth Kingdom, but Zuko gave her a "shut up, Toph" look.

"Why don't you just answer the freakin' question, Crazilla," Toph said angrily and rudely as she flicked something off her finger onto the floor a couple yards away. Zuko snickered mentally at Toph's nickname for his sister. It set off some better left unknown questions in his head.

"You'd do well to address royalty as such, not as childish nicknames," Azula said, glowering at Toph. Azula's shoulders did something associated with a shrug and her glare disappeared to be replaced with a nonchalant look on her face, almost as if she didn't care at all. "Because Father actually loved me and gave me everything I could've ever wanted. But then Zuko here came and took that away," she finished with a glare at her brother.

"Azula," Zuko sighed with a tone that would've said everything he'd worked for just took a step backwards. In a way, it did. He'd spent the past years trying to tell Azula that their father didn't love anyone and only gave her everything she wanted so she would obey him…She seemed to understand it or at least accept it a couple weeks or so ago, but now she was back to what she believed when she was first put in prison.

"What? I'm right here, all you have to do is look at me, Zu-Zu," Azula said, her voice once again dripping in venom. Zuko looked up at her with a blank look on his face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I'm not sure how to address this…?" Zuko said, almost humorously with a tone of instability and uncertainty. Azula pursed her lips and turned her head to the side, slightly, her eyes still on Zuko. Her lips twitched and Zuko knew she was probably trying to hide her laugh, unlike Toph who was already congratulating him on making her laugh without saying anything lame.

"Well, stop it," Azula commanded. Zuko shrugged and offered her a weak smile. She muttered something about Zuko's actions not having anything to do with her recent order. It was strange how one small tone of humor and confusion could cause the atmosphere to lighten up, compared to how one small glare or tone of venom could cause the atmosphere to make everyone panic and feel like running.

"Do you even know what you scream about, _Princess_?" Toph asked, using Azula's "advice" in sarcasm. She was still angry over the peasant remark and was already thinking up ways to get back at her. And being the scheming little girl she used to be, she learned even more over the years, even help from Sokka came her way with the nicknames. Azula glared at her.

"Of course I…" She faltered. A look of insecurity overcame her features for a split second, but was replaced with a look of anger and one of those know-it-all looks. "Of course I do!"

"Then what do you scream about?" Toph asked. _Checkmate. _

"…Things…" Azula said with a tone of unknown emotion in her voice. Zuko glanced at a smirking Toph and then at a frowning Azula. He raised an eyebrow. How the heck was he going to explain what she screams about to her? Maybe Toph could…?

"Wrong, Crazilla," Toph said, easily. "You've been screaming about—" Zuko tackled her, hand over her mouth, glaring. Azula raised an eyebrow as she watched the two wrestle, trying to get the dominant position on top of the other. "Sparky! What the hell?!" Eventually, Zuko sat down on her, preventing her from moving.

"Don't tell her…" he growled.

"Why not? It was obvious you were going to have trouble telling her, so why not let me just blurt it out?" Toph asked. During Zuko's bewildered silence, she shoved him off, yelling, "And get off me, Sparks!"

"Will someone tell me what the hell you two are squabbling about?!" Azula's voice echoed in the cell, causing the guards outside to look between the bars to get a look at what happened. Zuko looked up at her while Toph got to her feet and approached the Princess.

"Sparky over there doesn't want me to tell you what you've been screaming about because he's afraid you'll get angry about him reviving bad memories," Toph said, jabbing a finger at Azula's chest. Azula glared at her and growled, jumping forward, but the chains held her back a good inch from mauling Toph. Toph didn't so much as flinch.

"Toph!" Zuko scowled.

"What? I didn't tell her!" Toph defended, walking over to the cell wall. She leaned against it as Zuko glared at her and approached his sister. He sighed irritably before looking Azula in the eye with a content and determined look all over his face and in his eyes. But in his brain, he was worried about how Azula would react to what he told her.

"Azula, I know you remember what happened after I left to find the Avatar…" Azula's eyes widened slightly at the mention of it, but she shut her eyes the next moment and hung her head to hide her surprise and anguish. "That's what you've been screaming about," Zuko said, carefully. "Sometimes you'd even think I was Mother—"

"Don't mention her, Zu-Zu!" Azula screeched, looking up at him with red eyes and an even redder face. "She's a bitch and you know it!"

"Azula! She is not!"

"You're only saying that because you were the one who got all of her stupid 'love' and praise for doing absolutely idiotic and hopeless things! Father was the one who loved me and here you are, telling me he was a bastard and didn't love me! You're a dirty hypocrite, _brother_!" Azula yelled, inches away from his face.

"Hey, shove it, Crazilla!" Toph yelled suddenly, bending a slab of metal around Azula's mouth, holding onto her head to keep her mouth shut. Azula seemed to have had her effect on Zuko though, for he had fallen over backwards on his bottom, purposely, with a guilty and bewildered look on his face.

"I…" Zuko stuttered. "I…I can…what?" His mind seemed to have exploded. Toph could see why, though. He'd been believing their mother loved the both of them and their father didn't for practically his whole life, but then Azula calls him a hypocrite…and it turns out to be true. He was always calling their father names and when Azula said otherwise, he objected…and when Azula called their mother names, he told her to shut up or something closely related to it.

"I…I am a hypocrite." Realization had struck.


	4. Voices at Dusk

**A/N: Gah, I had the worst nightmare EVER last night. I was just, you know, staying up till 4 in the morning and then I passed out and the next moment, I'm having a nightmare about my brother dying . It was not pleasant. I woke up crying, but when I actually started to wake up I thought I died because the dream was so real. And we went to court in my dream and Oprah was the judge o0 WTF. **

--

"_I'm inviting Aang to stay with us," Zuko told Mai._

"_Why?"_

"_Because I think he'd like it…and maybe he could try to help me with something along the way," Zuko replied, falling back onto the bed, his arms crossed behind his head. _

"_Well, whatever you want to do…"_

—_Three Days Later—_

Princess Azula sat, hung over on her knees. She stared wordlessly at the ground below her, watching the dried and new blood shimmer from the moon light coming from the small barred window in front of her. At least the prison had enough dignity to put in windows for their prisoners. But they still had yet to learn to unchain their victims once in awhile. Azula was getting sick of the irons on her wrists digging into her already thinner than normal skin and rubbing painfully against her bones.

Azula lifted her head slightly so her dulled gold eyes could look out the window. There was a torch somewhere outside of the window, she was sure of it. Even though the Avatar had drained her bending abilities, she still felt a bond with her element…even though she could no longer control it. She growled at the thought of no longer having the ability to bend and throw the flames as she wished. Her bending was a part of her and the Avatar had only ruined and damaged the Princess.

_The Avatar is going to pay…I'll make sure of that, _she told herself, lowering her head once more. In a strange way, she felt that she didn't really want to kill or torture the Avatar. And the consequences of doing so caught on. She would be certainly killed if she did that. But if she was, it would be better than being chained to the walls of a prison. Her mind twisted into a knot and she dropped the subject immediately to save herself from a headache.

She sighed tiredly as she shut her eyes, peacefully for once in a long, long time. There were times she just wished she had a bed to sleep on without all the chains and restrictions. _But they obviously wouldn't give a good night's sleep to Princess of the Fire Nation_, she thought bitterly.

There were times all she wanted was the company of someone…Someone to just talk to her and not care what she says…To just be there…They didn't even have to say anything if they didn't want to…Just the company alone would make her feel a little better. _But no one would dare come near the insane Princess, _she told herself, angrily. _Besides Zu-Zu…but he only tries to get something from me with that blind girl to keep me from attacking him. _

"Not like I could even try to with these stupid shackles holding me back," she said aloud, not caring what the guards outside the cell were thinking about her. She heard one of the bastards laugh and instantly glared at the back of whoever did it. "What are you laughing at, peasant?" she snapped. The laughing immediately stopped. The Princess smirked.

"_Azula…_" Azula snapped her head back to the front. She glared.

"What are you doing here? Haven't tortured me enough have you?" she asked, angrily and annoyed. Ursa ignored the comment and knelt down before her daughter. Azula glared even harder if she could even say it was possible. "Get away from me!"

"_No, Azula,_" Fire Lady Ursa said, her velvety voice laden with concern. Her voice sounded like it was faded, the wind blowing it away with every breath it took. It echoed, not around the cell, but in the air and in Azula's ears. There was a metallic sound to it, as though someone was rubbing two magnetic metal balls together in the Fire Lady's throat.

"And why not?" Azula asked frustratingly.

"_Because, Azula…I love you."_

"No, you don't."

"_Yes, I do, Azula."_

"No, you don't!"

"_Yes, Azula."_

"No!"

"_Yes."_

"STOP TALKING TO ME!" Azula shrieked. But Ursa remained where she was. She put a hand on the Princess's cheek. Her hand felt like worn and hardly existent sandpaper and silk at the same time to Azula's cheek. Azula felt tears burn her eyes, but before she could stop them they rolled down her cheeks and right through Ursa's hand. "You're a hallucination," Azula started in a dangerous low tone. "Therefore, you don't exist. So…GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

"_Azula, you failed…you failed the Fire Nation." _ Azula looked to her right and saw Ozai in his prison robes. She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut, her mother's hand still on her face.

"No…no, go away! You're not real!" she yelled.

--

Avatar Aang strolled through the halls of the prison at Zuko's request, listening intently to silence. He knew the silence was supposed to be good, but it still unnerved him. It meant death to him for he was so used to being loud and others around him being loud…and happy for that matter. It had been a long time since he had seen someone unhappy (despite Katara getting angry over little and stupid things) and to hear…well, nothing made him feel like everything had gone back to war where everybody was too scarred or scared to say anything.

"_GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" _Aang lifted his head, listening even more intently. He was positive whoever screamed was a female and probably just leaving her teens as well. He only knew of two people who fit into that list—Katara and Azula. But since Katara was in the South Pole, caring for their unborn baby and, unfortunately, Sokka and Suki, it had to be Azula.

If it had been three years ago, Aang would've done nothing. But seeing as Azula was insane and in chains and not in a war period…he ran. He sprinted down the hall towards where he knew Azula's cell to be, not thinking one thing other than something about helping her and an emotion of determination and worry…and paranoia if he focused on it.

"_No…no, go away! You're not real!" _This time, Aang knew he was close. The voice was extremely frightened…It gave him goose bumps and that sense of panic people get when something dangerous and extreme is happening and they aren't quite sure of what it is just quite yet.

--

Azula shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face and her lips pulled into a deep frown. She felt like pleading them to go away, but no…Princess's don't plead and they don't cry. But here she was, sobbing like the day of the comet had replayed itself. She felt the words at in her throat, begging to leave her lips, but she kept her mouth shut from talking and from screaming.

"_You're evil, Azula." _Azula opened her eyes and looked up. Behind her mother stood Zuko, his shaggy hair let loose and his old clothes on him. She spotted the hole in his tunic and the red blotch on his skin behind the hole where she had shot lightning at him. "_Why did you do it? Did you really want me to die? Well, you got your wish, Azula. I hope you're happy now."_

"Zuko, I didn't," she started, trying to focus on him through tears and blurs. "I swear…I didn't…You…The Water Tribe girl…she…" She shook her head and lowered it, sobbing once more.

"_Why did you betray us, Azula?" _She looked up to her left and saw Ty Lee standing in front of Mai. Ty Lee had blood smeared all over her face and her once pink clothes, a frown imbedded deep on the acrobat's face. Mai had a frown on her face as well, but she also had tears in her eyes and a glare in her silver eyes, blood covering her hands and the cloth that covered her stomach.

"I didn't…you did," she defended.

"_We were your friends, Azula…how could you kill us?" _Mai asked, taking a step forward. _"We were friends since we were all eight…but apparently your brother could change everything about that and make you betray us."_

"But…no, you betrayed_ me_! You chose Zuko over me, so don't tell me it was otherwise!" Azula yelled, enraged. She turned her attention to Zuko and yelled, "And that Water Tribe slut healed you, so don't even try to say I killed you!" And then to Ozai, "I may have failed, but at least I wasn't the major screw up in Fire Nation victory." Lastly, she looked to her Mother who had a solemn yet expecting look on her face, biting her lip. She took note that Ursa never removed her hand through all the screaming.

"You do _not _love me." Mai faded. "You hate me." Ozai faded. "You loved Zuko more…actually; he's the only one you loved other than yourself." Zuko faded. Azula failed to notice her mother fading with every word she spoke. "Oh, but you pretended. You pretended to love me." Ty Lee faded. "But you are my mother, so I guess that's supposed to count for something stupid." She took notice Ursa was almost completely gone.

"_I love you, Azula,_" she said, fading completely from sight. Azula sighed and looked down at the ground, her tears ceasing. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up from in between dark locks.

"No, you don't."

--

Aang took in a deep breath. He stared at the cell door for at least a minute or two, contemplating what he should do. He finally decided on something so he opened the door revealing the broken Princess, crying quietly and hardly audible. He stared at her, a solemn look in his eyes, before walking over to her, his feet not making a sound against the dirty metal floors.

"Azula?" he called out, attentively. "Are you alright?"

"Do I _look _like I'm alright?" she snapped, lifting her head to glare at him. "My hair is a weasel-rat's nest, my face is as dirty as these floors, I'm chained to the Agni damn walls, and I just got tormented by my family. How do you think I could possibly be 'alright?' You probably think everyone and everything's 'alright' since you 'saved them' from the wrath of the Fire Nation."

"I…" Aang gulped a wad of snot. "Uh…sure?"

"You wouldn't know much about families, now would you, Avatar?" she asked, looking up through the window. Aang didn't know how to respond to it, so he didn't. "You grew up with monks…you were handed off at birth to a bunch of old geezers. You probably weren't even allowed to see girls until you were of marrying age."

"How…?" Aang took a step back. She was a hundred percent correct about the monks and the regulations. But how did she figure that out? Unless she actually spent the time to learn about the Air Nomads which seemed highly strange. Azula glanced at him through the corner of her eye, tilting her head so she could see him clearly without hurting her eyes.

"Fire Nation royalty is taught about the other three nations, even if one _was _extinct," she replied, pulling a memory back into her grasp.

--

"_Dad!" she called out whilst looking down at a book in the library. She heard two different footsteps; one was quick and light, no doubt Zuko's, and the other's was loud and slow…her father's. She still had yet to figure out why Zuko came whenever she asked for their father. Who was obviously not her brother. _

"_What is it, Azula?" Ozai asked, standing before his daughter. Zuko walked around him and sat down next to his sister, looking down at the book in her hands. Azula glared at him and pushed him farther away. _

"_What's an Air Nomad?" she asked, softening her gaze for their father. _

"_An Air Nomad is someone who used to live in the Air Temples. Most of them can bend air to their will, much like you and Zuko can with fire. They are very free-spirited and hate to be in cages." Ozai smirked. "That's why if you ever come across one, be sure to chain it to the ground." She felt Zuko tense up._

"_How come I've never seen one?" she asked, annoyed. _

"_Because Great-Grandfather Sozin killed them all."_

--

"Oh," Aang said, simply. "Well…I guess I just came to check up on you." Azula chuckled with black humor.

"No. You did it because it's your duty. Can't let down people's expectations," she said. Aang gave her a blank look. In reality, Aang felt she had just described herself from what Zuko told him about her.

"It is my duty to make sure everyone's in peace…but I also came because you're my friend's sister," Aang said, thinking up things to say as he went along. "You may not think so, but Zuko does care about you. So much that he can't even do anything without telling me about something you did that had something to do with whatever he was doing. I know he's worried about you. He sent me down here to check up on things and to get a good look on how things in here could change for the better…"

"You could clean up the floors for one," Azula said, holding back a laugh. Aang smiled. He knew Azula had an actual personality as everyone does, but he didn't expect any humor from her in this situation. She was chained to the walls for Agni's sake! And more or less, in the presence of the kid who took away her power.

"Yeah, that'd be kind of nice to have clean floors," he agreed, looking down at blood-covered shoes. He made a disgusted noise as he lifted one of his feet off the floor and put it back down, causing a stomach-churning _squish_. "Ew."

"What the bloody hell was that?" Azula asked, looking down at his feet. Her bluntness forced a laugh out of him. Her nose scrunched up. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know." She looked away. Aang laughed again. He walked over to her and squatted down so he didn't have to get any of the gunk on the floor on his clothes.

"Maybe you could help me change a few things around here," he said, smiling. Azula gave him a shocked look. But she quickly hid it with a blank and uncaring look. "What's one thing you hate about this place?" Azula quirked an eyebrow.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you've been here longer than I have and you probably know a lot more stuff about this place than I do," he answered. "Now, what's one thing you hate about this place?" Azula quirked the other eyebrow, but she found it easy to reply anyway.

"These chains…they're always rubbing against my wrist bones and they annoy the hell out of me," she answered, pulling her arms against the chains to demonstrate how stupid they were. Aang looked at one of the shackles on her wrist and bit his lip.

"Alright, number two: no chains," he said, releasing his lip. The smile returned. "What's another thing?"

"The guards," she said, looking angrily over at the men outside the door. "They always treat me like I'm a wild platypus bear but they probably get treated better than I do." Aang pursed his lips.

"I'll have a word with them then," he announced. "Anything else?" Azula looked down at her feet, thinking. But then she started to wonder why she was even helping him…or rather why she was helping him help her.

"That I never get to go outside," she responded, almost in a whisper. If there was one thing that bothered her was that she wasn't allowed to move around, but even if she could…she realized it wouldn't be all that great unless she was out of the prison. She missed the ocean and the beach and even the sand crabs if she thought about them. She missed the sun's rays going down on her back after she just wore herself out in the water with Ty Lee or even Zuko if he was willing. But then it dawned on her that she never really did any of that stuff. She was missing her free-will and was now wanting all the stuff she refused.

"I think I could arrange something," Aang said, pulling her out of her thoughts. He got to his feet and smiled down at her. "Alright; floors, chains, guards, and outside. Got it. Thanks for helping me with that, Azula." He felt like laughing. Had he honestly just said thanks to the used-to-be enemy? Well, he did do that with Zuko at the Western Air Temple, but Azula didn't save his life nor could he even imagine her doing such a thing. But he did sense her starting to lighten up. He thought it strange at first, but he left as such and decided to tell Zuko the next time he saw him. He left the cell and the prison, but not before having that word with the guards, with a giant grin on his face.


	5. Rally Round

As expected, Avatar Aang had kept his word and had the floors cleaned. He said something to Toph and Zuko about how little things can turn into great things, but both had failed to see what he was getting at. During the first day of change, Aang had all the prisoners moved out of the prison so he and some others could get to cleaning the penitentiary up. During which, the prisoners were free to do their own thing so long as someone was watching them. Zuko had taken the privilege of watching over Azula.

Azula was sitting on a cliff, looking over at the ocean as the sun reflected off the water. She felt relaxed, but thoughts and emotions and memories still pulsed through her head even so. Zuko was sitting next to her, ready to pull her back if she tried jumping. He knew that Azula was depressed and was capable or committing suicide, but it still seemed far-fetched…He was prepared anyway, no matter how strange it sounded to him.

"Don't you ever wish you were out of that place?" Zuko asked, glancing at the prison at least a mile away. He looked out at the horizon for a moment of silence before turning to his sister who was staring down thoughtfully at the bank of the cliff. He smiled.

"Of course I do," Azula answered, looking out at the sea. "But it's not like I have any say in the matter—You're the Fire Lord and unfortunately my brother and yet I'm still in that hell-hole no matter how calm I can be."

"It's not a matter of how calm you are; it's a matter of how sane and good-hearted you are," Zuko responded, looking down at Azula. Azula had put her gaze back down to the bank of the cliff, but this time she didn't look so thoughtful. "Besides, you'll be living with me again soon anyway, no matter how sane or insane you are." She ignored him. Her hand was clenching the grass beneath them with a death grip, her knuckles gone white. Zuko stared at her hand for a moment before placing his own hand over hers and looking back up at her. She glanced at him through the corner of her eye.

"What are doing?" she asked.

"Trying to help," he responded. Azula narrowed her eyes.

"I don't need help," she stated. Zuko pursed his lips.

"Maybe, maybe not. I know you don't like that place," he said. "I'm trying to get you out of there and back in the palace. I can only do that if you're not willing to kill or hurt people anymore." Azula sighed irritably and blew a lock of dirty hair out of her face. Zuko looked over her again and stated, "I believe you need a bath."

"I do, but it's not like a prisoner has the privilege to bathe," Azula said, stubbornly. Zuko stood up and pulled Azula to her feet. "Now where are you taking me? The Boiling Rock perhaps?"

"I'm taking you to get cleaned up," Zuko replied, walking down the cliff's hill. Azula sighed again and followed him, not bothering to say something sarcastic. In truth, she was actually thankful he had brought up the subject. Her hair was getting too greasy to handle and she knew she was going to get zits soon since her greasy hair was always in her face. She had only been bathed since the month previous—they had only one hygiene regulation at the prison; one bath a month. Other than that, it was Grease City.

_Today's the day, _Zuko thought subconsciously. He felt the faint pulse of the thought and questioned himself, but all he got was his own confusion. He shrugged mentally.

About ten minutes later, Zuko had reached a little secluded area of the ocean. It looked like a pond, but the water was salt water and it was rippling from the waves coming in through the small opening. There were tall rock walls around the pond, hiding practically everything in the little canyon. He had gone here many times to clear his head, mostly at night when he thought about his mother or Azula…or even asking Mai for her hand in marriage. He blushed at the thought.

"Goody," Azula said sarcastically as she looked over the water. "A pond."

"I'd take you to your old bathroom in the palace, but according the elders, no enemy of the Fire Nation is allowed in the palace," he explained. Azula quirked an eyebrow at him. He squeezed her hand much to her dismay and added, "I don't consider you an enemy."

"I don't care what you consider me," she replied, looking at the water. "But you expect me to bathe in that?" she asked, pointing at the lake with a sort of disgusted look on her face as she leaned backwards a little. Zuko raised his eyebrows.

"Would you rather do that or stay greasy and dirty until next week when I move you back into the palace?" he asked, already knowing her answer. As stubborn as Azula was, he knew she had her limits…he just had to find said limits and use them to his advantage. Which he was starting to classify as 'easy' since Azula was a girl and Zuko had figured girls out a while ago—From what he had taken in, girls practically lived off hygiene and talking.

Azula sighed irritably. "Fine," she grumbled. She yanked her hand out of Zuko's and started walking towards the water. She glanced over her shoulder once she was at the bank and yelled, "No freakin' peeking!" Zuko flushed bright red. He shuddered and turned around, spotting a large boulder looking thing. He shrugged and sat down against it so he was facing the other way from his sister.

"Why would I do that?" he asked himself rhetorically.

--

When Azula walked back up into his view, he was sort of shocked. The woman he always saw in prison looked so much different, he almost thought she was a different person. Her hair was clean and dry and surprisingly it looked brushed; her face was the cleanest it had been in all the time Zuko had seen her; even the prison clothes looked like she had washed them. But she still looked angry at something.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, walking over to Zuko so she was looking down at him. He felt a memory pulse through his mind from the day he got back home and was feeding the turtle ducks when Azula walked up to him. But this time, there were no turtle ducks and Azula wasn't there to ask if the Avatar could have survived the "killing blow."

"Because you're my sis—"

"I'm well aware of that, Zu-Zu," Azula snapped. "Tell me why you are helping me. Uncle Fatso was Daddy's brother, but did he stop the Avatar from practically killing him? I don't think so," she said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at the Fire Lord. Zuko's eyebrows furrowed.

"I can't stand to see you in prison, Azula. I know you're confused and hurt…badly, too. I want to help. I couldn't sleep well at night because I kept thinking you might die in that suffocating prison cell of yours," Zuko answered, looking up at her with an honest look on his face. "I'm not sure why I'm helping you…Every thing in my system's telling me that I have to leave you to rot in prison…but I can't do that no matter how many horrible things you've done to me or others."

"Is that it then?" she whispered, looking down at her feet. "Guilt?"

"That's only part of it," Zuko sighed, stressed. He fell over on his back, purposely and put his hand over his eyes. Azula crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her other leg, pursing her lips.

"Then what are the other parts of it?" Azula asked, annoyed and curious.

"Well, one part of it is that I can't stand to see someone I've known since I was kid…well, in such a bad shape. Another part is that…you used to be someone completely different." Azula quirked an eyebrow. "You used to be funny and sweet and curious and…well, everything you aren't now. I miss the old you."

"What's the other part?" Azula asked, wanting to drop the subject.

"I love you," Zuko responded almost instantly. Azula sighed.

"Why?"

"…I don't know," Zuko answered, truthfully. "I think that when you were little and you weren't…well, mean and such…I started to trust and care about you and…even though you tried to kill me multiple times, I just couldn't get over it. And seeing you helpless in prison didn't help that much," he said, glancing at Azula who had a slight blush on her cheeks as she looked over at the water. He watched her look around the lake and the other surroundings for what seemed like a half an hour until Azula finally looked down at him.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, looking down at herself. Zuko laughed.

"Nothing, I'm just…wondering what you're doing, is all," he answered, taking in a deep breath in the middle of his sentence as he looked up at the sky. Azula raised an eyebrow, but he caught the ghost of a smile on her lips. He was positive it was there. She just wasn't willing to show it.

"Just looking I guess," she replied. Zuko smiled. He stood up and stretched his back before grabbing Azula by the hand and pulling her back in the direction of the cliff they were once sitting on. Azula didn't seem to struggle too much which he found as a good sign or a horrible sign. It soon turned out to be the latter as Azula's body went limp and dropped to the ground.

"Azula!" he yelled out of shock and worry as he knelt down beside his sister. Her eyes were clenched shut in pain and her hands were gripping the grass beneath them every other moment, as though she was trying to release her pain into the ground. He noticed her skin was shockingly paler than it should be and it was then that something dawned on him; How much had she been eating?

Azula suddenly gasped in some sort of pain, causing Zuko to begin to worry. He put his hand where Azula's ribs should be and immediately felt her bones sticking out, panic overcoming him. He knew he had to get her fed, but he also knew that he shouldn't give her too much otherwise her intestines wouldn't be able to handle it and…well, that was when he ran away from the nurse. But he knew the outcome was bad.

"Hang on," he said as he slid her hands underneath his sister. He lifted her up and raced towards the palace. The elders' words crossed his mind, but he shoved them aside and told himself that if they tried to stop him from bringing her in, he'd banish every single one of them. He'd soon realized that was a bit harsh, so he settled with taking their jobs and evacuating them from the palace.

"It hurts," Azula whimpered. He looked down at her and saw tears peeking out from underneath her lashes, her eyebrows furrowed in pain. She took in a shaky breath, but it must've hurt her for the next moment she was pushing herself against Zuko's arm, clenching his shirt in one hand, the other grabbing at her stomach.

"I know," Zuko responded, quickening his pace. "Hang in there, Azula."

"I can't," she breathed, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Yes, you can," Zuko argued. He jumped over a log. "You have to."


	6. Acceptance of the Princess

**A/N: You guys had better be fucking happy--I spent all fucking night typing this! I woke up at 4 PM yesterday and right now for my time zone, it's SIX IN THE FUCKING MORNING! HOW MANY HOURS IS THAT?!...12, but i'm still not very fucking jolly! I'm going to sleep with my face buried in four fucking pillows and im not going to wake up until tomorrow morning! GAH!! But i do like how this chappy plays out...nerrrrr passes out**

"So, Sparks, how's the Princess doin'?" Zuko looked up from his sister to the doorway where a very intrigued-looking Toph stood, arms crossed as she leaned against the doorway. A smirk was on her face which told Zuko she was up to something, whether in his favor or not…he was scared to find out.

"She's been unconscious ever since we got to the palace," he responded as he put his gaze back down towards the Princess. "The doctors say she'll be fine after she gets some decent food and a few days rest _not _in prison…"

"Aye…and what do you say?" Toph questioned as she sat down on the other side of Azula's bed. She crossed her legs and her eyebrows scrunched up in frustration as she tried to feel Azula's heartbeat through the wooden base for the bed and the mattress. She felt something pounding, through all the blankets and sheets, and she figured it was Azula's heart beating.

"I don't know," Zuko responded, head in his hands. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before he lifted his eyes back up to Azula. "All I know is that Azula…well, she was actually starting to sound like herself before…before she passed out."

"You said she was starting to act more like herself…what exactly is that for her?" Zuko blinked. "Melon Lord tires of asking questions." Zuko chuckled and looked up at her.

"Well…she used to be like any little girl should be. Before she was sent to that stupid Fire Academy, she was…nice and caring…and she didn't hate me for no reason…and she actually liked to be around Mom rather than Dad. But everything changed after Dad took her away from us and sent her to the academy." He groaned in anger. "They turned her into what she is now and by feeding her lies, they got her to spew lies herself."

"Azula being nice?" Toph asked, bewildered. Zuko went to say something, but she cut him off. "I know, I know—I don't know about her all too much and you're telling the truth, but that…I don't know, just seems…"

"Weird?"

"More than weird…almost unbelievable," Toph replied. "Almost."

"Yeah…I know," Zuko agreed, looking back down at Azula. Her face was still pale, but not from malnourishment anymore—They had stuck some sort of tube in her arm and told him that it was restoring all the elements needed to stay well and out of sickness. She was merely pale for the lack of sun. But Zuko didn't feel any better since he had to watch the doctors stick a tube in his sister's arm. It was almost revolting. Almost.

Azula's hair had been properly brushed by a maid who seemed to have no clue what was so wrong with her. Toph told him that she was new, but he didn't really care. In fact, he was almost grateful that someone had helped Azula since he was almost positive Toph wouldn't do it…and he just felt it wasn't his place to do it himself. The maid had also cut her hair down to the point where she had her bangs back and her hair only reached the small of her back like it used to.

The same maid had taken the Princess's wardrobe into her hands as well. Instead of the skimpy rag of a potato sack Azula had been forced to wear, Azula was now draped in one of her old silk robes and a pair of her old baggy pants she normally wore with the robe at night which surprisingly still fit her.

Not more than a couple minutes after the Princess was dressed the _same _maid had clipped Azula's nails down to a safe length, so she couldn't lash out and scratch (rather cut than scratch, seeing how sharp they were) anyone within her reaching range…which was quite large now that the chains were gone.

Toph coughed suddenly and brought the young Fire Lord's attention back up to his friend. She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the door and tilted her head in the same direction. He looked over at the door and saw Mai standing in the doorway, a frown on her face.

"What is she doing here?" she asked, rudely.

"She's supposed to be sleeping," Toph said, getting to her feet. "But that obviously isn't going to last long if you keep your voice that hostile." Mai gaped at her. "I think you need to talk to her—you were her friend once, she might start to get her sanity back if she knows that you don't hate her."

"But I do—" Toph slapped a hand over her mouth, glaring.

"She doesn't know that as a fact yet. Sparky over there's been worrying about Azula since the day they fought that stupid Agni Kai. If she doesn't get her sanity back soon, Zuko will probably go insane himself." She released Mai. "So I think you should help if you don't want a fork lodged up your ass."

"Excuse me, but since when the hell could you threaten me?!"

"Ever since you started to live here with Zuko," Toph growled. "You better realize I'm Zuko's best friend and if you do anything or nothing to or about his sister it _will _push Zuko into a stage of depression. If that happens, I'll make sure you don't get anywhere near him until you get your head out of—"

"Toph!" Zuko scolded, pushing her away from Mai. Toph shook her head while she pursed her lips. She pointed at Mai threateningly before she walked out of the room, angrily. Mai watched her leave the room with a glare all over her face.

"I don't understand how you manage being around her," she scoffed.

"She doesn't normally threaten me," Zuko said, walking back over to his seat next to Azula. "Only people who she thinks might hurt me or her other friends, like Sokka and Suki." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he leaned on Azula's bed, his arms crossed on the mattress.

"That doesn't answer my question—Why is she here?"

"Because…me and Toph have a theory that if Azula is around her old life, she might get some of her sanity back…maybe she'll start regaining the little girl I used to know." Mai scoffed and sat down where Toph used to be.

"She can't be changed, Zuko…you know that. She's an evil, skanky—"

"Excuse me?" Zuko asked, in a dangerously low tone, looking up from underneath his hair. Mai raised an eyebrow and was about to say something, but Zuko cut her off. "She isn't evil…not the Azula I know. Her cover is evil and unpleasant and possibly skanky, but _not_ my sister."

"Azula is your sister, Zuko."

"I'm aware of that, Mai, but you don't know who she used to be." Zuko shook his head and reached out with his hand, placing it over Azula's idle one. "She's been raped of all her old emotions; joy, excitement, sorrow…No, all she feels now if betrayal and insecurity thanks to our _dear _father. He took her away from Mother's love and even mine if I had been showing any at the time. He placed her in that stupid boarding school and the teachers there taught her how to be precise with her bending, all the while making sure she showed no overwhelming emotions."

"I'm aware of what she went through in the Academy—"

"Are you, Mai?" he snapped. "Because the way you've been acting about her tells me that all you know about her is what my father wanted everyone to see—how _perfect_ and _controlled_ she was. But the fact is that she wasn't perfect at all…in fact, she was probably the most flawed person there. She bottled up her emotions like they told her to…and she finally exploded after I won the Agni Kai with her."

"…So what the hell do you want me to do about it?" Mai asked.

"I want you to at least try to help her," Zuko responded, lifting his head.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Mai asked, sighing.

"Talk to her…She might be asleep, but she can still understand us," Zuko replied, getting to his feet. Mai watched him approach the door with a quizzical look on her face. "I don't want to be around for what you have to say. It's meant for my sister's ears and her ears only." He left, shutting the door behind him with a _click_.

--

Azula listens to all around her, her eyes never once opening. Her slumber is light, yet the loudest voices couldn't make her eyes open. She had taken it all in with a subconscious secretary in her mind, taking notes for the Princess to review once she is fully conscious. She lies on her stomach, the right side of her face buried in the silk pillow as her hand unnoticeably grips the sheets beneath her. Listening.

"You're no fool, Azula." Her eyebrows scrunch up at the voice.

_Who is that? _Azula asks the escritoire.

"You know that I don't really want to help."

_Mai_, Azula realizes with a scowl on her face.

"But I do hate seeing you so helpless…Zuko says you used to be different. I find that hard to believe. But Zuko wouldn't lie to me about his one and only sister. But that brings up another topic I had resisted asking when we were 'friends'— Why were you so determined to kill your brother? Your only brother at that."

_Because he was weak, _Azula answers, knowing that Mai can't hear her. _Father said that he needed to be put in prison, but we all know that Zu-Zu's too smart—He'd find a way out eventually and after which I would be set out to find him again. But if I killed him, he wouldn't be able of escaping. And my problems would be over within a moment's notice. _

"I know you used to love him at some point…it's only natural to love your siblings no matter how annoying they can get. I love Tom Tom even though I don't show it…I mean; Yeah, it's sucks ass when I have to baby-sit him, but…You never had to baby-sit Zuko, so what's your problem with him?"

_He never loved me…and I never loved him. He was weak and useless. He was below me in every possible way except for age. If I had been born first, I can only imagine how powerful I would've become, _Azula says. Her hand grabs the sheet in a death grip.

"Zuko's pulling his hair out in frustration…He loves you and he wants you to heal from all your pain. I know you're refusing the help right now, but if you accept it, life will go a lot easier for you."

_People don't exactly forgive people as easily as you think_, says Azula, bitterly.

"…It's been a while since I've last seen you. You look good…I guess. Zuko and Toph say that you used to be a mess in that prison cell. If I hadn't known that, I would've never thought that you had been in prison in the first place."

Azula lets a dark, inward chuckle escape. _Lies. You're sucking up, Mai._

"Well…I'm not exactly sure what to tell you. To be honest, I don't have a good word to say about you. Zuko does though…I guess I could just channel all his thoughts to you since he's obviously not about to say it to your face."

_Oh, sure, go ahead, Mai, _Azula says, sarcastically. _He hates me, but that's alright—Go ahead and shove it back in my face. It won't have any effect on me, no matter how much you think it might hurt me to hear that people hate me. No effect at all. _

"He says that you're confused and that you need help. I couldn't agree more. He hasn't exactly told me the following, but I know he wants to tell me that you hate being helped, but you'll accept it eventually. You're stubborn, Azula. We all know it. And we all know you love to be thought of as determined and unconquerable."

A smirk lands on Azula's lips. _Maybe. _

"But truth is…you aren't unconquerable. Any of us could've defeated you, but you were three feet ahead of all of us. You planned it all out while we just followed orders and took risks. But you never took risks because you were too worried that you might fail your bastard of a father. Your father never loved you, Azula. I know it hurts to hear that, but it's true. What kind of a father would rape or abuse their daughter? Your mother and brother are the only ones to have ever loved you…Ty Lee loves you, I know that. But other than that…you were hated and feared. And eventually hurt because of it all."

_More lies, Mai? _she asks, slightly annoyed and hateful. Her hand grips the sheets even tighter and her eyes begin to burn. But she wasn't going to admit defeat. The Princess of the Fire Nation never will thanks to the Phoenix King.

--

"So, how'd it go?" the Melon Lord asked as Mai stepped out of the room, a sly smile on the Earthbender's face. Mai merely glanced at her before walking past her and Zuko who was leaning against the walk, sulking with his hair hiding his eyes.

"I don't know," Mai answered before she got out of earshot. Toph scoffed.

"How does she not know?" she asked, quirking her eyebrows with an unbelieving and mocking expression on her face. Zuko shook his head as he lifted his gaze up to the Melon Lord.

"I don't know," he responded, opening the door to Azula's room. He walked inside and held the door open as Toph walked past him and towards her seat on the left of Azula. He looked around the hall before shutting the door with another _click_.

"Uh, Zuko?"

"Huh?" He turned around and saw Toph standing over Azula with a confused look on her face. He could see why, though—Azula was thrashing around in her bed, sweating and sobbing. Zuko immediately ran over to her side, already thinking he knew what she was thinking about.

"What's she doing?" Toph asked, placing a hand on the bed.

"She's…she's hallucinating, I think," Zuko answered, uncertainly as he sat down on the edge of his sister's bed. He reached out and placed his hand on her forehead, a frown appearing on his face when Azula's temperature proved to be already too hot for her own good. Sweat was practically covering her face and, more so, around her hairline and her chest.

"…And what do we do about that?"

"Scratch that—She has a fever," Zuko said, ignoring the Melon Lord. "She must've gotten too angry or something when Mai was talking to her. Either that, or she's having a really bad dream."

"A bad dream?" Toph scoffed.

"You'd be amazed at how many we get thanks to our screwed up family and all our faults," Zuko responded, pulling the covers off her sister and onto the floor by accident.

"How would you know she gets nightmares?" Toph asked, skeptically.

"She used to run to my bedside when she was little," Zuko replied, brushing the hair out of Azula's face. He sighed. "Too bad our freakin' dad took her away from us…otherwise, it'd probably still be that way nowadays."

"What kind of nightmares did she used to get?" the Melon Lord asked, suddenly intrigued as she sat down on the bed. Zuko racked his mind for a memory, only finding one for the particular topic.

"I can't remember all of them, but I do remember one time she had a dream that me and Mom died. I probably only remember it because she was crying like someone stabbed her." He chuckled. "Actually, that's what I thought happened to her when I saw her."

"How'd you take that one?" Toph asked, smirking.

"I screamed," Zuko replied, laughing. Toph snorted.

"Very nice," Toph stated, sarcastically.

Azula suddenly arched her back, both of her hands grabbing at the sheet underneath her, forcing her arms into odd positions. She screamed and rolled over on her arms, pushing another scream from her lips at the sudden pain. Zuko grabbed her by the shoulders and rolled her back over onto her back, pulling her arms out from underneath her.

"Shh…it's O.K, Azula," he whispered, soothingly. As a wail escaped her lips, both Zuko and Toph felt their hearts break. Zuko kept the tears from falling, but they still blurred his vision to the point where all he saw was red and the green blob he knew to be Toph. Even broken by sorrow, Zuko had enough sense to figure out a solution. "Azula, wake up!" he yelled.

"Yelling as a last resort?" Toph asked rhetorically. But it seemed to work. Azula's eyes instantly shot open and her screams and wails stopped. She was still breathing heavily and she was still sweating, though. Her eyes looked around the room, as though Zuko and Toph weren't there, until her eyes finally landed on her brother who shot her a faint smile through his fallen tears.

"Why're you crying?" she asked, emotionlessly. Zuko's smile dropped and he slid to the floor. He shook his head and hid his face in the mattress with his hand gripping his sister's only faintly now that she had woken up. "Stop it," she commanded, her voice nothing but a whisper. Even as a whisper, though, her voice was full of some sort of fear and anxiety. Desperate.

"I can't," Zuko replied, looking up at her. Her face seemed to hold some sort of emotion that could be related to sympathy and compassion. "Why do you even care?" Azula's face suddenly took over the look that told anyone she was arguing with herself. She blinked.

"…You're my brother." Zuko grinned whilst Toph gaped. He sat down on the bed and put his hand on Azula's shoulder, bringing her up to a sitting position. He wrapped his arms around her and felt a pulse of happiness flow through him as Azula hesitantly laid her arms around him, faintly. She had finally accepted the help and Zuko was positive things were going to go uphill from then on.


	7. Late Night Temptation

**A/N: Yes, this chapter is awfully short. But I really like this one, seeing as it gives reason for Azula to banish her followers. I like the detail, even though somewhere in the middle it does get a little morbid. So beware. Do NOT try to imagine what Azula goes through with the Imperial Guard, for you will be plagued with nightmares and horrid images if you do. But R&R anyway. I like this chapter, lol.**

--

—_Three Years Earlier, The Throne Room—_

Azula peered around the corner, her eyes flashing about with caution. If only Li and Lo knew what she was doing…She shook the thought from her tainted mind as she took a step into the Throne Room, her slippers padding quietly on the marble floor. A nervous smile rose to her lips as the red flames decorating the dais slowly turned to blue with each step she took.

"Sorry, Daddy dearest, but…I shouldn't think something would go horribly down hill if I just…" Azula started, tracing her fingers on one of the twirling shafts rising to the overhead of the throne as she walked around the pending seat. She suddenly dropped down with her legs crossed, the smirk widening. "Steal your seat."

A chuckle rose to her pale lips as she glanced around the room, imagining every corner filled with loyal servants and guards, all ready to lay their lives down for the soon-to-be Fire Lord if need be. She saw the Dai Li and the Imperial Guard…all she needed was the Avatar in chains to view her victory.

But suddenly, the flames went out and the room was suddenly empty. She heard the shuffling of feet on the floor and she glanced about the dark, getting to her feet. She resisted to call out for help or to ask who was there…for Fire Lords can handle their own lives for sure.

"_Sorry, Princess…_" Azula turned right around, only to meet the green eyes of the Dai Li leader and a searing pain in her stomach. She looked down with a look of shock all over her face and found a dagger planted firmly in her abdomen, blood spilling freely from the wound. She looked back up and frowned at the Dai Li leader who was now standing in front of the entire league of Dai Li.

"Traitor," she said, loud enough to hear her voice bounce off the walls. Azula's eyes snapped open, a gasp escaping her lips. She glanced about and settled with the thought that she had fallen asleep at the throne and had a nightmare. She calmed herself and went back to imagining her victory day, but this time without the 'loyal' Dai Li.

--

The room contained only those Azula had sought loyal enough to trust. The empty room overlaid with the ghost of her imagination, the Dai Li's area completely empty save one of the Imperial Guard's foot out of place. She ignored it and glanced about the room once more, happily.

The flames abruptly rose to a tremendous height and the heat seemed to rise even more than her own flames should've been. She jumped to her feet and tried to look through the flames to see who she suspected had started the flame attack, but she only saw the orange of the blaze and her own reflection in her golden eyes. The fire blocked out her sight and then her hearing once she had established the roaring belonged to the inferno.

Suddenly, a red hand grabbed her by the forearm and pulled her through the flames, burning her robes and her hair and more so…her skin and flesh. It was horrible; the stench of burning bodies and burnt hair…the feel of it all in her mind and even when she looked at her own hands. The skin on her hands and arms and surely everywhere else was peeling clean off the muscles and the bones…It didn't take much longer for the flesh to fall completely off of her skeleton.

Azula jumped as her eyes snapped open once more, her face sticky with tears. She looked around and took note that she had fallen asleep once more, putting the fire out long enough for her to thrash about enough to push herself off the dais. She growled and got to her feet, approaching her seat once again up on the platform.

--

The room was almost empty in her mind now…With the Dai Li and the Imperial Guard gone, all that remained were the servants and a few of the cooks. There was no possible way they could assassin the Princess…no, not Princess anymore. The _Fire Lord_ could not be overthrown by a bunch of ratty-haired zombies born to fulfill their Lord's every need and desire. Azula was convinced.

"_Would you like another cherry, Your Highness?" _a servant girl asked, raising a platter of fruit up to Fire Lord Azula, her eyes lowered down to the floor with a seemingly shame-full look upon her face. Azula looked about the room, her suspicious gaze watching for any glint of a dagger or any spark of flames. Satisfied with nothing ensuring her death, Azula cautiously picked up a cherry and tossed it in her mouth.

As she dared swallow, Azula heard laughter from the crowd of persons down at the base of the throne. It was then that it became apparent—a cherry pit was caught in her throat. Her breathing constricted and she started to gasp for air, but she only tried in vain. Her lungs screamed at her, but all that was there to answer was a lifeless corpse lying on the stairs of the dais with the laughter of her servants down below.

--

Azula was later found unconscious by her Dai Li agents and brought to her room to sleep. Li and Lo were informed, but they could do nothing for the hallucinating Princess even if they knew her fault.


	8. Table Manners

"OK, Azula," Zuko started as they walked along the halls of the palace. Azula hadn't said anything other than the reluctant "good morning" and the short replies to yes or no questions. He had suspected she was just a little nervous or left-out in a way. He'd probably be the same way if he had been in prison for three years and then taken out by the same person who put him in there who happened to be his sibling.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking around as they walked into the courtyard garden. Zuko felt suddenly very unwanted, but he knew why; Azula knew they were going to the turtle duck pond which she hated doing when she was a kid…but more or less, she probably sensed they were going to talk about Ursa. It was a good thing Zuko was holding her hand otherwise she probably would've run back to her room.

"Azula, you're mental state is…well, a little unstable," he explained. "You're going to see a therapist of some sort." He heard Azula sigh irritably. "But don't worry, it's only for an hour minutes and I'll be right there if you need something."

"Of course, Fire Lord Zuko to the rescue," Azula muttered under her breath, sarcastically. Zuko rolled his eyes and continued walking around the path until they had reached the set of stairs that allowed them to walk down into the grassy area of the courtyard.

As Azula walked the grass beneath her made soft _crunch _noises, bringing back some old thoughts and memories to view. She pushed them all to the side of her attention as she followed her brother. But as they approached the turtle duck pond, Azula failed to see the person sitting at the base of the tree for a memory had forcefully pushed itself into her mind.

--

"_First set, Azula!" Ozai roared as Azula hung over her knees. She took in a deep breath before standing up straight and getting into the starting position with her knees bent and her arms crisscrossing over each other, her open palms facing a set of candles upon a wooden desk. She twisted around adeptly, throwing small minor flames in different directions but before she got even remotely close to setting the candles alight, she stopped and got into a different position._

"_Second set," Ozai ordered. Azula nodded curtly before flipping up into the air and sending a bolt of fire in the direction of her father who merely separated the flames with a smirk on his face. Azula continued to move around skillfully for a couple moments before she stopped, her arms and legs spread with two fingers on each hand pointing at the candles, her legs slightly bended. _

"_Finish," Ozai demanded. Azula reeled her hands back and pushed fire through her fingers as she jabbed them in the candle's direction. Two small jets of red flames raced through the air for two of the candles, setting the wick on fire once in contact. Before she could start to finish the last set, a strong hand landed on her shoulder. A chill ran down her back in the memory and in the present._

--

"You OK?" Azula blinked and saw Zuko leaning in front of her with a sort of concerned look on his face. She nodded faintly and gestured for him to continue walking. Zuko smiled and led her even closer to the man sitting against the tree. She eyed the stranger, suspiciously.

"Hello," the man greeted, holding his hand out to Azula as she and Zuko finally got within range. "I'm Doctor Xu, your trainer." Azula quirked an eyebrow and gave Zuko a quizzical look. Zuko merely smiled.

--

"_So what is your approach, Doctor…Xu?" Zuko asked, looking down at a sheet of paper consisting a list of names for therapists and such. Doctor Xu was a weird looking man—his hair was spiky and unruly to the point where it looked like he put a bomb in his hair in the morning; his face had a couple scars, but beside that, he looked friendly. _

"_Training," he responded, a grin on his face. Zuko quirked an eyebrow. "Patients I treat usually have gone a little mentally unstable for whatever reason," he started. "Confidence is one of the things they lack, and since Azula has been in prison, her confidence is pretty low considering she used to be the best of the best. Right?"_

"_Probably," Zuko replied, a little uncertainly._

"_Confidence for Azula is what, exactly, Lord Zuko?" Zuko paused. _

"_I don't really know…I guess it would be that security feeling that she gets that ensures she could win her fights…but when I won the Agni Kai…that must've shattered it," he said, his eyes wide. Doctor Xu nodded and wrote something down on a sheet of parchment. _

"_I would imagine her fighting skills are pretty dormant since she hasn't been able to use them in three years," Xu started again. "If I could activate them with a set of training, we could get her confidence back."_

"_We?" Zuko questioned._

"_You're her brother—If she trains without proper knowledge and support, she'll go right back to that power-hungry Princess we all know," Xu explained. "Ozai used to train her with force and cruelty, but I'll train her with modesty and sympathy." Zuko smiled. _

"_You're hired."_

_--_

"Your brother and I have settled on some agreements, so…Are you ready to get your fighting skills back?" Xu asked, a preppy tone in his voice to which Azula quirked another eyebrow and took a step back.

"Uh…" she started, glancing at Zuko who had taken Xu's seat against the tree. He motioned for her to accept, so she replied with, "Sure…?" Xu grinned, but the next second his face took over a serious look as he instructed her on something about 'self-defense' which made Zuko laugh—If there was anything he knew about his sister, it was that she didn't _need _self-defense; She could just _look _at someone wrong and they'd leave her alone.

"—So, I'm going to show you a set and guide you through it, and then you'll do it by yourself," Xu said as Zuko tuned into the lesson. Azula still looked pretty skeptical, but she was accepting it at least. She had a look of confusion on her face, though—When Ozai taught her, she had to pay attention to every move he did and remember it in one single set before she would have to perform it _perfectly_. But this time, she had someone who was going to guide her through it and give her more than one chance to get it right.

"And what if I don't get it the first time?" Azula asked, uncertainly. Zuko motioned for her to come over to where he was sitting. She gave him and Xu a hesitant look before she walked over to her brother who had gotten to his feet. "What?" she asked.

"Azula, this isn't Dad—He isn't going to hurt you if you screw up. If you do screw up, he'll show you the set again and give you as many chances as you need," he explained, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Which I'm sure won't be too many considering how determined you are," he added, smiling at her encouragingly. Azula blinked and pulled the left corners of her lips back in a slight smile as she turned back around to Xu.

"Alright, old man," Azula started, smirking. "Teach me."

--

The following sixty-two minutes (Azula was yelling at the end) consisted of blood, sweat, will-power, and possible sprained ankles. Azula went along with everything pretty well and she got practically everything on the first try, except for the whole "discipline" thing Xu was trying to force on her. At some point, Azula had nearly pushed Xu into the pond because he kept repeating the same thing over and over again for probably about seven minutes straight…But Zuko was getting a little agitated as well, so he "didn't hear" Azula yelling at Xu for the last five minutes of the lesson, plus two unnecessary minutes.

Unfortunately, Azula's joints and muscles weren't quite accustomed to fighting anymore unlike her will. This proved to be more painful than it should've been—Azula's ankle had twisted too far for its own good and that ended with a supposable sprained ankle. But she didn't even tell anyone until Zuko pointed it out about twenty minutes later. By that time, Azula had jacked her knee up as well. But her will-power was too strong, so she kept on pushing even with her injured joints.

The siblings walked along the path once more, but this time Azula was leaning on Zuko with her elbow on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her torso in case she tripped or did something related to falling. She had been very reluctant to have Zuko help her (she almost shoved _him _into the pond as well as Xu when he went to assist her), but he convinced her that she couldn't walk anymore without injuring herself beyond repair.

"I think that went well," Azula stated sarcastically as she shot a look down at her injured leg. She glared at the useless limb before her gaze went back up to the path ahead. Zuko merely chuckled at her comment.

"Do you think you could undergo at least three hours of constant talking?" Zuko questioned, summing up the next hours which were planned to be some sort of _actual _therapy rather than training. Azula sighed.

"About…?"

"…I really don't know," Zuko answered. "Random stuff; How your life was and/or is, what you think is interesting…blah blah blah…That kind of thing," Zuko guessed. Azula shifted her upper body a little as they slowly advanced towards the hall into the palace corridors.

"So long as I don't have to walk anywhere or do any more exercises with Doctor Juvenile back there," Azula said, glancing over her shoulder at the Turtle Duck pond where Doctor Xu sat, waving, even though they were more than a couple king's legs away from him. "He's a fucking creep."

"So, you think you can sit through three hours of practically nothing today?" Zuko asked, ignoring his sister's last comment. Azula yawned, stopping momentarily so they didn't have to walk with her eyes closed.

"I'll probably pass out," Azula stated, rubbing her back with her fingers. Zuko rolled his eyes and was about to dismiss the statement as a lie, but he saw the bags underneath Azula's eyes and way she was hardly keeping herself walking straight.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" Zuko questioned.

"Two hours maybe," she answered, looking at her feet. Zuko sighed.

"Alright, we'll have to wait for tomorrow to get those therapy sessions back into your schedule." He looked around the halls to get a good idea of what area they were in so he could bring Azula back to her room. "You feel up to eating lunch?" he asked once they reached her chambers.

"How far away is that?" Azula queried.

"About four hours," he replied. Azula yawned again and nodded curtly before walking into her room and shutting the door behind her. In about a week, he had gotten Azula to somewhat trust him and become more outgoing like she used to be. He walked off towards the library to talk to the soon-to-be Fire Lady and the Melon Lord, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

--

When lunch came around, Zuko was a little nervous. Mainly because Mai would be at the table and he had a little voyage that he needed to get someone to do; He couldn't go and Azula certainly wasn't ready for traveling yet. Toph probably could, but she most likely wouldn't want to. And Mai…well, she probably wouldn't do anything for Azula nowadays since she's not under her command anymore.

"Hey, Zuko?" Zuko looked over at Toph.

"Yeah?" he questioned, glancing at the door as Mai walked in.

"Do you think it's a good idea to have Mai and Crazilla at the table together?" she asked, already playing a scenario in her mind. In her mind, Azula and Mai were having a major food fight, except it was a deadly fight for some reason…Poisoned food? Nah. Why would you eat the food thrown at you in a food fight anyway?

"Uh, not necessarily…?" Zuko answered, uncertainly. Toph scoffed.

"I won't start anything if she doesn't," Mai stated, blandly as she walked past the two and sat down in her seat. Zuko smiled, but Toph muttered something about Azula flipping out and attacking Mai even if she didn't start anything.

"Well, let's just see how things play out, shall we?" Toph asked, a sly grin on her face. Zuko went to ask what she was thinking, but Azula walked into the room and caught his attention before he could. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Toph added as she sat down next to Zuko and across from Mai.

Azula looked a little more rested, but she still looked tired. Her hair was left down, much to Zuko's surprise, and she wore one of her old robes. He immediately recognized the robes as the ones she wore when he came home after Ba Sing Se. He was a little surprised they even fit her still, but he brushed that aside as Azula sat down next to Toph.

"Sleep well?" Toph asked, chuckling. Azula gave her a strange look, but she shrugged and looked down at the table. Zuko walked over to his seat and sat down, his nerves sky rocketing as Mai shot a glance at her old friend across the table.

"Does your leg feel any better?" he asked Azula, hoping she wouldn't attack Mai. Much to his pleasure and surprise, all she did when Mai looked at her was look right back at her with a blank look on her face.

"Yeah, a little," she replied, looking up at him.

"I'll have a doctor look at it if it doesn't improve too much," Zuko said.

"It better not be that freak that got my leg screwed up in the first place," Azula glowered. Zuko laughed while Toph gave him a questioning look. Mai was quiet as she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. Azula seemed to notice her silence, so she shot her old friend an expectant look. Mai looked up at the sudden attention pointed at her, her eyes immediately catching Azula's gold ones.

Once again, Toph resisted yelling something that would probably get the two girls attacking her. As she looked over her silent quote, Toph realized Sokka would probably say something like it. She pursed her lips at the thought of Sokka.

"Hey, Sparks, when's Twinkle Toes getting here?" she asked, interrupting the two girls' staring game. Zuko looked from Mai and Azula to Toph.

"He should be here about—" At Zuko's interrupted words, the door suddenly opened and in came Twinkle Toes wearing his yellow robes and that same wooden necklace. A smile adorned his face as he approached the table, bowing to everyone in one single bow. Before he could even take a seat though and before anyone could say a word to him, Toph had gotten to her feet and embraced her friend.

"Hey, Toph," Aang greeted as he returned the hug. They parted and, almost as expected, Toph slugged him before walking back to her seat. He laughed and sat down next to Mai, giving Azula an almost encouraging smile. "Hello, everyone."

"Hey," Mai greeted, looking back down at her plate. Aang gave her a quizzical look, but she couldn't see it, so he gave it to Zuko who shrugged after giving his greetings. Azula smirked suddenly. Zuko saw this and swung his feet around to the left side of his chair so he could easily get to his feet if he had to stop her from doing something to someone.

"Well, isn't this a pretty picture?" Azula started. "I never thought I'd see such a sight—used-to-be traitors and used-to-be enemies all sitting together for lunch."

"But things have changed," Aang started, optimistically, as he gave everyone at the table a huge grin. "We should all be friends by now. I think we all are, even if some of us don't feel like admitting it," Aang finished, glancing at Mai and Azula. "Some of us just need to talk," he added through emphasized words.

"And by some of us, you mean me and Mai?" Azula guessed, sighing.

"I said some of us, so that could mean Mai and Toph, too," Aang said, nervously. Toph shook her head and crossed her legs. He kicked one of Toph's legs under the table, not bothering to take his smile off his face since Toph clearly couldn't see facial expressions.

"Ow," Toph muttered. She glared at Aang before nodding enthusiastically, a fake grin on her face. She nudged Azula on her arm and told her something under her breath. Azula laughed, shortly and somewhat quietly, but it was without malice for once.

"So—" Mai started with anger clear in her voice.

"I'M SAYING IT, DAMN IT!" Toph interrupted. Everyone except Toph and Azula quirked an eyebrow at her. "TENSION! FA SHAM!" she yelled, waving her hands excitedly in the air. "I believe you had something to say, Mai?" Toph said, a big smirk on her face. Mai snorted and denied it, laughing.

The following hour or so consisted of talking, eating, snorting, and laughing. Even Azula contributed to the happy hour, but not as much as Aang and Toph did. Everything was finally at peace within the palace, but Zuko knew Mai and Azula still needed to talk.


	9. Conensus

**A/N: I really like this chapter. Mainly because Mai doesn't seem to hate Azula anymore. OMG, cheesy ending! But w/e, it sounds pretty cool even if it is cheesy. The last part of this chapter really flowed from my fingers to the keyboard which is good. My brain is being deprived of caffiene and this is what happens when you give me peanut butter at six in the morning; purple dragons (PURPLE DRAGON THEORY FTW!) and SokkaZOMBAYS!**

**EDIT:**** As you may have noticed, I deleted the later chapters. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to add a little more to it all...I combined the two after this and I'm currently adding on a load of shit. So be patient and you shall be rewarded with a LOT of ZukoAzula-SiblingFluff, arguments between aangsty Fire Lord and confuzled Melon Lord, moody Katara, bashful Aang, and Azula madness. All coming to a net near you! (xD I couldn't help myself!)**

The next few days really helped Azula's mental state, Zuko noticed. The strange therapy with Doctor Xu turned out to be the best thing Zuko chose to do besides taking Azula out of prison. The Princess had gotten most of her skills back, but she still had a lot of cramps and injuries from those three dormant years. And not to mention, since her Firebending was taken away, she was being extremely pessimistic and stubborn when Zuko said that she could protect herself after the third lesson.

She was taught hand-to-hand combat and a lot of the stuff Ty Lee was taught, the exception being chi-blocking. But Azula still figured out the weak points of the body and used them to her advantage in the sparring lessons with Xu and occasionally Zuko if he held his bending back (Xu said something about making her feel taunted if he did use his bending to fight her.)

Azula and Mai had yet to talk to each other or even acknowledge the other except for the tense scenes at dinner and lunch. Aang continued to talk to Azula even though half the time she didn't say anything because of Mai's presence nearby.

Azula and Toph got a little closer than Zuko expected, for every time Azula had her free time, the Fire Lord saw her around Toph in the library or the garden. He questioned Toph about her and she said something like "Azula's sanity is resisting the crack between savagery and humanity" that Zuko didn't understand in the least.

Zuko had gotten his fair share of time with his sister through out her lessons and sometimes her free time, too. He talked to her about how the world changed in the past five years and how she was improving on her sanity issue. They argued a couple times, but they only lasted for a few minutes or so. Azula stayed quiet when he talked, only contributing to the bonding time with occasional agreements or the opposite, sometimes she would even tell a story about something Ty Lee told her…something along those lines.

Zuko noticed that Azula still spoke about Ty Lee like she was still her friend. He suspected that she acted like that because technically only Mai betrayed her…Ty Lee was just sucked into the fight since Mai was her friend as well as Azula. But he also noticed Ty Lee asking about her in a lot of their letters, so much that he was thinking about inviting Ty Lee over to the palace. He put that one on his "possible recovery" list for Azula.

--

"Mai?" Zuko asked, looking around the corner into the library. A smile landed on his face despite the nerves in his stomach as he spotted her reading a scroll next to Toph. He walked over to her and asked her if they could talk about something…He wasn't saying the subject for fear Mai might reject it and get into another fight with him.

"Sure," she replied. She looked over at Toph and said, "I'll be right back, Toph." Toph merely nodded and laid her head on the table as Mai got up and followed Zuko out of the room and into the hall. "So what's this about, Zuko?" she questioned the Fire Lord as he leaned against the wall.

"Mai, before you say 'no', just…think about it, OK?"

"About what?"

"Can you talk to Azula?"

"…Why?" Mai asked, suspiciously. Zuko sighed.

"Because, there's a lot of unwanted tension between you two," he explained. "Every time you two see each other, it's like one of those mental battlefields in the room. Everyone can feel you two fighting, just the way the tension picks up. I know you don't say anything bad about or to her and I'm proud of you for that, but Azula still thinks that you are on the opposite side as her—"

"That's because I am, Zuko," Mai disagreed, pointing down at the ground for emphasis as she took a step forward. "She was evil, Zuko. She stood for every possible wrong thing for the Fire Nation—murder, lies, manipulation…I could go on like this. But I won't." Zuko sighed inwardly.

"Thank you—"

"I'm saying that even though she was evil and I don't believe a thing she does, I do believe _you_ so if you believe that Azula can become that little girl I never knew, then…I'll help," Mai continued, crossing her arms with a determined look on her face. Zuko grinned.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

"I do believe you have," Mai said, a smirk on her face. "But I could do with a couple more of those." Zuko smiled and kissed her on the lips, smiling. Mai smiled back at him before walking down the hall towards Azula's room. He watched her until she left his view. Within the next moment, he was sitting next to Toph in the library.

--

"Do you think that was a good idea?" Toph questioned, brushing the other side of her bangs behind her ear as unseeing eyes stared at the opposite wall. She took in a deep breath as her fingers traced the designs on the edge of her seat.

"A somewhat good idea," Zuko answered, picking up the scroll Mai was reading. "I mean, this could play out in two different scenarios…either Azula and Mai make up or…"

"Or one of them gets blown off the planet," Toph said, smirking. "Honestly, that would be extremely interesting if they went into war-mode. I can imagine those two tearing the palace apart just trying to prove the other wrong…" Zuko scowled.

"Toph, I think you need to lay off the war stories," he advised.

"How can I lay off them if I'm the one telling them?" Toph questioned, smirking. Zuko rolled his eyes and tossed the scroll which eventually hit the Melon Lord on the head. Toph laughed.

"You don't even tell the stories right, anyway," the Candle Lord added.

"Of course I do," Toph scoffed.

"Last time I tuned into one of your stories, I was a purple dragon who sang depressing songs every time I got angry," Zuko said, crossing his arms. Toph snorted.

"Its called being imaginative and creative…how boring would it have been if six teenagers saved the whole damn world? I sense a cliché." Zuko resisted saying something about how stressing the journey was and how exciting it was back then. "Hey, just be happy I didn't give you Twinkle Toes' part," Toph smirked.

"…I don't think I want to know."

"It's probably for the best you don't," Toph said, patting him on the back. "But you did hear Sokka's line, didn't you?" she asked, holding back a laugh.

"You mean the really annoying impression you did, that said something like 'hungry, hungry, hungry, boomerang' every time he got mentioned in the story?" Zuko questioned, clearly remembering Toph walking around like she was sleepwalking, muttering something about food in her presentation to the little Fire Nation folk.

Toph snorted, "Yep." Zuko chuckled.

--

Mai stepped into the Princess's room, cautiously. Her mind was empty for the moment as she held onto one sentence she planned on telling Azula whether she liked it or not. Truth be told, Mai would rather force her into her place, but for the sake of Zuko, she didn't plan to.

Azula sat on her bed, leaning against the wall with her legs pulled up, a scroll pressed against a wooden slab in one slender hand and a brush in the other. Mai spotted an ink plate set on the opposite side of the bed, just in the Princess's reach but far enough away from her so that it wouldn't spill if she moved. Azula looked somewhat peaceful—her face was calm and no anger lines were anywhere to be found. She was biting her lip thoughtfully and her eyebrows were scrunched up in what Mai knew to be her imagination.

_She must be drawing or writing, _Mai concluded. Even though she was already in the room and the door was open, she knocked on the door as she kept her eyes on the seventeen-year-old girl. Azula didn't seem to acknowledge her, but Mai knew that she sensed someone at the door…and if her identification skills hadn't died, Azula knew that whoever was there happened to be Mai.

"Azula?" Mai asked, calmly with a kind yet solemn look on her face. Azula merely adjusted her position on the bed and glanced at her over the wooden board for an instant before she looked back at the parchment in front of her. In the mere instant Mai saw Azula recognize her, she noticed that Azula didn't seem to change her expression. Was that good or bad? Mai didn't know, but either way she continued to go along with her plan.

"Yes?" Azula asked, collected some ink on her brush, not looking at her. "I'm trying to write something here if you don't mind," she added, not rudely but not entirely welcoming either. Mai knew she wanted her gone, but she also knew she wasn't going to directly tell her to leave either.

"Zuko said we needed to talk," Mai said, walking over to her. She wasn't fond of telling her that she was there because Zuko told her to, but she really didn't want to surround Azula with lies either. She knew the base of the problem was all the lies she was around as a kid, so she intended to keep the sins away from her if she could help it.

"And what did Zu-Zu say we needed to talk _about_?" Azula asked, strangely accepting what Zuko had told Mai to do. Mai didn't answer immediately, taking her time to collect her posture and her steady voice as she sat down on the opposite side of Azula's bed, making sure not to nock the ink tray over.

"I don't know; He didn't tell me what he wanted us to talk about," she answered. "But I think I have a pretty good idea what he wants us to talk about," she added, clearly remembering the 'tension' thing Zuko told her before she left for Azula. Azula looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"And what would that be?" Azula questioned.

"Azula, it's got to stop—the fighting and the not getting along," Mai said. "I know what I did to you back at the Boiling Rock and I can't exactly say I'm sorry for it, but that's what happens when you get between a couple, Azula."

"…Do you know what that did to me, Mai?" Azula questioned in a low and dangerous tone as she set the wooden slab down next to her. Mai was about to answer, but Azula had continued before she could. "We were always a team—me, you, and Ty Lee…a pyramid. I was always on the top and when you decided to test me, Ty Lee was the only one holding me up. But then you dragged her out as well and I fell into an abyss."

Mai blinked and stared at her, dumbstruck. She hadn't known Azula could describe that like she did and she wasn't expected to have a guilt trip laid on her because of it. She gazed at the Princess for a couple more moments as she thought of something to say. "I know…and I'm sorry that it had to happen."

"No, you're not. You're only sorry that I sent you to rot in prison," she snarled, picking the wooden board and the parchment back up. Mai bit her lip and traced the designs of the sheet beneath her with her pointer finger. She narrowed her eyes for a split second in determination.

"I may not be sorry about all the things I did to you, but you have to think about all the things you did to me and Ty Lee. You acted like you owned us and you bossed us around like servants," she said, causing Azula to look at her through peripheral vision. "It was either live happily with the love of my life or continue to be a slave at the Boiling Rock, Azula."

"…You still didn't have to drag Ty Lee into all of it," Azula muttered, hardly audible. Mai caught her words and frowned. "And besides, even if I treated you like servants as you say, I still gave you protection and backup. And you two backed me up…that's how things went since we met." She glowered. "But then you had to screw everything up when Zuko stepped into the picture."

"It's not my fault he's cute," Mai defended. Azula made a disgusted face.

"I'm still his sister, you don't talk about things like that to me of all people," Azula scorned. "Agni, Mai, you really have changed since Ba Sing Se," she marveled, in a sort of bewildered tone that told Mai that she didn't believe it until just then.

"So have you, Azula," Mai said, smiling faintly. Azula looked up at her.

"Have I really?"

"Well, you used to be a heartless witch and now…now you actually have feelings and you're showing them. You've made up with Zuko to the point where you two actually act like siblings should and hell, you've even managed to grab a friend from the Earth Kingdom," Mai observed. Azula stared at her, emotionlessly.

"I wasn't that heartless," Azula defended quietly as she picked up one of the silk pillows on her bed and wrapped her arms around it as she set it in her lap and rested her chin on the top of it. "I just didn't show emotion because my dad said that if I showed it, I was weak."

"You were never weak, Azula," Mai said, a hint of wit in her voice. "You were the one that _made _people weak just by lookin' at them. Zuko showed his emotions and look how he turned out." Azula chuckled, gloomily with black humor.

"I guess when you get trained by the best and turn out to be the best, it still doesn't count for anything if you don't show your emotions, huh?" she asked rhetorically. Mai didn't know how to reply, so she didn't. Azula continued on with her talking. "I was trained to become Fire Lord and Zuko became Fire Lord; I was trained to be the best of the best and I ended up in prison thanks to my brother; I was trained to be precise and deadly and came out heartless. How ironic."

"Don't blame yourself for all that. You never failed at anything, and I say that because I know that's what you were getting at. It was just because you were trained for all the wrong reasons and you were trained without the right necessities," Mai said, putting a hand on Azula's shoulder. The Princess looked up at the blades master and blinked. "Don't worry…I'll fix you."


	10. Beginning of a Journey

**A/N: DAMN THIS WEBSITE! It's taking FOREVER to pull up a page! But, that aside...Si, I combined like three chapters. But I like it. IF you've read the beginning, skip ahead. There's a part NO ONE has read. So, go find it. A little search party, yes? So, I started Middle School today...major switch. I was in Elementary School for 6 years, so I was panicking all day. I ran into like...4 seniors and then I got my little sweater thing caught in my locker, so...I had to get my friend to unlock my locker (yes, I use a lock...I say this because in my school, no one uses them except for really paranoid people and newbies.) I think my best class was band at the end of the day (I play the flute, lol.) So...enjoy this chapter while you can. I have a pre-test tomorrow for math. Wish me luck!**

* * *

Zuko noticed Azula changing and he took pride in it. He was a little _too _glad that Mai had spoken to Azula because they no longer had their awkward silences and they even talk to each other like they used to, but Azula doesn't boss her around anymore…in fact, Azula seemed a bit timid when Zuko or Toph were around. Zuko saw this as a big improvement anyway, along with her training with Doctor Xu.

Ty Lee continued to send the Candle Lord letters, but Zuko only now started paying attention to them. She kept asking how Azula and Mai were doing and if he had asked Mai the "big question" yet, and if anyone had rebelled against the Fire Nation's new leader. Of course, Zuko didn't think about writing back to her, but then he remembered Azula. He immediately wrote a messy reply:

_Ty Lee,_

_I know I haven't answered too many of your letters, but I need to ask you something. Is it possible for you to come over to visit Azula? She and Mai just made up and she's starting to change a __lot__. She still talks about you like a friend should, so I was wondering if you could just…you know, hang out with her or something? _

_Mai is fine and so is Azula, so don't worry. And no, I haven't asked her yet. I'm waiting until Azula can bypass her insanity which I know is still there since she still cries and screams at night. No one has rebelled against me yet, but I think someone's going to eventually if what my Uncle says is true. _

_Fire Lord Zuko_

Toph had taken it into her responsibility to watch over Azula and Mai when Zuko couldn't, so he deeply appreciated this. But he knew Toph only did it because she wanted to see someone snap and start up a fight, even though she would probably stop it after it got too out of hand. He figured it wouldn't be too bad if the two got into an argument—It would just give them an insight on how worked up they both were which, in turn, should help the both of them understand a little more than they already knew.

Even the therapies, although _very _annoying even to the Candle Lord who wasn't even the patient, were working wonders on Azula. But of course, they weren't helping as fast as Zuko would have liked…They only appeared to have helped Azula get an insight on how her current situation which would, in a matter of moments, turn her into the sobbing wreck Zuko was used to seeing in the prison…although they didn't last nearly as long as they used to. But he was very happy that Azula was becoming even more determined to get out of the rut she was stuck in which she would announce every once in a while after her sobbing sessions.

But the bright side to the lessons were quite obvious; Azula seemed in a brighter mood a couple minutes after the therapy lessons and she started to actually talk what she though about, although the latter was a new effect that everyone noticed almost immediately. But the sessions didn't seem to be doing much for her sanity…

Zuko still awoke to her crying at night to which he either ignored if he was too tired to even acknowledge it or he dragged himself to her room and stayed there until she stopped. There were the few times she screamed at him for hours on end because he walked in without knocking and the Candle Lord knew this was a sign that her insanity was starting to bubble up once more. He also knew that he had to find a better solution to cure her psychosis, if that was even possible.

As Zuko had known from the minute he saw her slipping, he needed to start his work at the root of the problem. He spent hours upon hours thinking of what had purged his sister of her sanity, only to find that their Mother and a possible confrontation with their Father_ might_ help…It seemed a little far fetched to him; that the start of all the problems could possibly revert their actions, but he had already made his mind up by the time he actually took notice of his skepticism.

Along with the matter of their parents, Zuko looked around for another solution if the first and previous wouldn't work…or if their Mother proved to have passed on which Zuko wouldn't find all that surprising since some Earth Kingdom citizens were bound to find out her identity and do something about it even now that the war was over…Because Zuko knew the Earth Kingdom lived off of suspicion of the Fire Nation nowadays.

The one thing Zuko could think of was Ty Lee talking to her which was already in progress…he just needed her to accept the invitation, which if he knew Ty Lee as well as he did…she'll accept it with enthusiasm. But he was still a little on the skeptical side even with three ideas on his mind. All the thinking was giving him a headache, but he continued to try to find another solution with one clear thought on his mind:_ The end result will be worth all this effort. _

Mai and Toph had been thinking up (or at least _trying_ to) ideas to help Azula ever since they saw Zuko passed out on his desk one day from wearing himself out by staying up all night to help his sister. Toph had made one thing clear, although Zuko wasn't too fond of it; Azula needed a boyfriend to get over her fear of men getting too close to her, besides her brother who was constantly fussing over her and, almost as much as he fussed to her dismay, hugging her.

Mai hadn't thought of anything too outgoing other than the idea that Azula should get involved with other people so she would get over her old days of torturing and so she wouldn't grow back into the habit. She also said that the people might get over the fear that they had ever since they heard Azula was living in the palace once more. Zuko had acknowledged this plan as well as any other plan he had heard, no matter how stupid any of them seemed.

All Zuko was sure of with the situation was that it was now or never, or else the lines Azula knew between good and evil would certainly be erased. And if that happened, Zuko wasn't so sure he'd be able to rebuild those lines from scratch while maintaining what was left of his sister's sanity. _Avoid that at any cost._

* * *

The Princess bent over her knees, her eyes full of determination and something Zuko had guessed to be amusement although her fatigue was obvious. Her face was coated in sweat as was the rest of her body, so much that her bangs were sticking to her face constantly. Her hair had gotten frizzy and some strands were sticking out, but one that caught Zuko's attention every time he looked at her was the one let loose between her signature bangs.

Doctor Xu was watching from the sidelines as Zuko waited for Azula to catch her breath, meanwhile catching his own as he got the chance to do so. Xu was actually very proud of the both of them, although he wouldn't admit it until the end of the lesson; Zuko had managed without his bending and he didn't seem to mind not using it, and Azula wasn't even using sarcasm as much as she used to do to taunt Zuko.

Azula looked up at her brother and got to her feet, steadily. Zuko did the same but he got into a different position than the Princess did. Azula seemed to be basing her regular combat off of her bending, the Fire Lord and the Doctor observed. Before Zuko could observe any further, Azula had taken him down to the floor in a tackle.

_Well that wasn't very bending-based_, the Candle Lord thought with a chuckle as he rolled over on top of Azula. If he had been in the situation mere years ago, he would've been scared to death…but now that he actually _knew_ her, he knew that she wouldn't try to kill him. The smirk on her face, playful for once in a long time, told him everything. A couple moments later, Azula got the dominant position over him once more when his arms gave out from the struggle.

"Alright, that's enough—Azula, get off him," Xu said, firmly, as he approached the siblings. Azula scoffed, but she got off Zuko without any resistance. Zuko got to his feet and brushed himself off while Xu started talking to Azula. "That was _very _amusing."

"…Did you make us fight for your own entertainment?" Azula asked, angrily. Zuko smuggled a laugh while Xu started to panic, stuttering and babbling on about something that neither of the royal siblings understood in the least. Azula quirked an eyebrow and put her fists at her hips.

"Relax, Xu," Zuko said, laughing. Xu immediately regained his posture. "I wouldn't fire you even if you _did _dothat for your entertainment," he added as he walked away, forcing a stiff chuckle from Azula who was following not too far behind her brother.

"Now where are we going?" Azula asked with a tone of annoyance and frustration in her voice as she caught up to Zuko. Zuko hadn't expected anything less from her, seeing as she had been screaming for at least five hours the previous night. Zuko was just as tired as she was since he had been the one to try to calm her down…which had proved in vain. He fell asleep at the foot of her bed almost instantly after Azula had fallen asleep.

"It's a surprise." Azula pursed her lips. She never did like surprises and Zuko knew she didn't. He felt like laughing out loud, but he was too tired so he merely chuckled. But Azula heard it. She glared at him and slugged him on the arm, alarming a few of the guards in the area. Azula's frustration only humored him more, much to his sister's dismay.

"I'm not in the mood for surprises," Azula glowered.

"Neither am I, but Aang insisted…" Zuko defended.

"…Oh, so he caused this?" Azula asked, agitated as she looked up at Zuko with her arms crossed. Zuko didn't reply. He was lost in his head, thinking about something like Aang turning into a turtle duck, thanks to his exhaustion and his over-active imagination mingling in a deadly combo.

"Well, look who it is; Sparky and Psychopath." Zuko looked over Azula and saw the Melon Lord leaning against a wall, smirking. Next to Toph was someone he knew to be Katara's brother, Sokka. He hadn't known he was coming, so Toph must've invited him. He nodded in acknowledgment while Azula refused to even look at them out of exhaustion.

"So, Toph told me you let her out of prison," Sokka said, slinking up beside the Candle Lord while the Melon Lord took her place next to Azula. Zuko nodded and tried to restrain a yawn which didn't turn out too well.

"Yeah, pretty much," Zuko said, scratching the back of his head. "So what brings you here? I thought you were coming next month with Katara and Suki…Or did you so magnificently persuade Toph into inviting you early?"

"I work wonders through long distant friendships," Sokka stated. "So what?"

"Does that mean you brought Suki and Katara with you?" Zuko asked. He ignored Toph talking to his sister who merely nodded occasionally. Sokka nodded, enthusiastically.

"Yup. Now all we need here is your Uncle Iroh and Mai, wherever the heck she went," he confirmed. Zuko laughed despite his fatigue. "So…where is Mai, anyway?" he asked, shifting his eyes as though no one else was supposed to hear him. Zuko shrugged.

"Last I saw her, she was still in bed," Zuko replied. Sokka wolf-whistled and patted him on the back, causing Zuko to turn bright red. Azula snickered and nudged him with her elbow while Toph burst out in booming laughter, almost falling over in the process.

"Shut up!" Zuko yelled, desperately. Toph muffled her laughter, but Azula did nothing to shut herself up. Sokka chuckled and draped his arm on Zuko's shoulders.

"Relax, Sifu Hotman." Zuko growled.

"How did you guys even come _up_ with that one?" he glowered.

"Who knows?" Sokka shrugged. "Would you prefer Jerkbender?"

"Not particularly," Zuko muttered. Sokka laughed enthusiastically to which Zuko responded by whacking him on the back of the head, knocking the Water Tribe Chief's son over with his lack of balance.

"Well, that wasn't very nice," Azula stated, sarcastically. Zuko rolled his eyes and Toph laughed again. Sokka eventually got to his feet again, catching up with the three.

"So, do you guys know what Aang is planning?" Zuko asked. Toph shook her head and Azula remained silent.

"Nope…according to him, only he and Appa know…and that's saying something, 'cause Momo is very sneaky!" Sokka exclaimed. "Did I ever tell you guys about that time I woke up with Momo's hand in my mouth?"

"I believe so," Toph said. Zuko snorted.

"That's nothing compared to the time Aang knocked me over in the South Pole," Zuko said, laughing. Sokka laughed, but Toph and Azula remained quiet, either not knowing what to say or having never heard about the time Zuko first came to the South Pole years ago.

"I remember that!" Sokka exclaimed. "You were such a dork back then."

"I know…but at least I tried not to be unlike you!" Zuko defended. Sokka scoffed. "You threw a _boomerang _at me. It was effective to some point, but still… a _boomerang._"

"If I remember clearly, I got you in the back of the head with that boomerang!" Sokka fortified. Zuko jeered. "And I've hit plenty of other people with that boomerang, too." A sad look suddenly overcame his features, confusing Zuko. "But I threw it and it didn't come back…"

"When did that happen?" Zuko noticed Toph tense up, but he ignored it.

"The day of the Comet," Sokka replied. "When we were attacking the air ships, Toph and I fell. I tried to stop it with my sword stuck in the side of the thing, but it didn't slow us down any. So, I landed on one of the shooting posts and broke my leg, but Toph wasn't so lucky…she fell right past it, but I caught her. At some point, the soldiers flocked up on us so I threw my boomerang at one of them, knocking them over, and then I threw my sword at another shooting post which cut it clean off…and then, it fell."

"I can't say I exactly feel sympathetic for that," Zuko stated. "But if I chucked _my _swords off of an air ship, I wouldn't be too happy either. Maybe it was meant to be…"

"I did get to save Toph somewhat," Sokka concluded, smiling a bit. "But Suki did most of that." Zuko put a hand on his shoulder. Sokka looked up at him with a confused yet disappointed look on his face.

"Not true. If you hadn't grabbed her, she would've fell before Suki arrived," Zuko said. Toph scoffed and flipped her hair out of her face. Zuko looked over at her and found her scowling, muttering something under her breath. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Toph glowered. And with those last words spoken, the four walked off towards the beach where the young Avatar told them to meet him. None of them knew what the 'surprise' was, but knowing there was one slightly lifted their moods. Besides Azula and Zuko who were more irritated than usual.

* * *

Zuko and Company followed Aang's directions onto the beach. It was sort of a cove looking thing. It looked like a cave, but it didn't hold any water in it and it wasn't too deep which meant it wasn't too cold or dark. In fact, when everyone stepped in, they all almost said that they'd rather stay in there all day out loud.

Katara's voice broke everyone from their own thoughts, though. The first thing Zuko noticed was the look on her face when she saw Toph—a look of pure excitement and happiness—and then the look when she saw Azula—a look of anger and confusion. "What's she doing here?" she asked, glowering at Zuko.

"Katara, I already told you," Aang said, stepping up beside the distressed Waterbender. Her eyebrow twitched. Zuko looked her over and noticed she looked different, not just the fact that she was older than when he had last saw her…she looked…fatter? Was that it?

"She's pregnant, remember?" Sokka whispered to him, nudging him when he saw the Fire Lord staring at the enlarged stomach on Katara. "She's a lot more moody than she used to be, so I'd be on the lookout for anything that might set her off," he added, chuckling afterwards.

"Well, that makes me feel better," Zuko said, sarcastically.

"Goody for you!" Zuko resisted knocking him over again.

"So, are you guys ready?" Aang asked. Zuko muttered something under his breath, but Sokka nodded enthusiastically. Everyone else stayed quiet, making facial expressions or just…existing.

"Oh, c'mon guys…it's not bad!" Aang exclaimed.

"Just get it over with, Twinkle Toes," Toph said. Aang winced, already sensing her mood a little off. But he pushed that aside and put on a big, goofy grin to cover up his worry and concern.

"Alright, guys," Aang started as he started walking towards Katara who was still glaring, in turn, at Zuko and Azula. Zuko, finding nothing really that interesting, was looking around. He spotted Appa in the background and that little lemur—_Wasn't his name Momo?_— atop one of the bison's horns. He quirked an eyebrow at the thing, but he brought his attention back to the Avatar as he started talking again.

"So, as you know…the war is over," Aang said, building up some unwanted suspense between everyone. Practically everyone nodded, a little or less annoyed. Zuko couldn't help but realize Aang chose a shitty day to have a surprise; everyone was moody and/or tired…save Sokka and Aang. "And so, my job being the avatar…was really annoying at times, but it was all worth it," Aang stated, optimistically despite the words. But he did manage to get a laugh from Toph who seemed to be letting up on her moody stage.

"Are you nervous or something?" the Melon Lord asked. Aang blushed.

"Uh…not really, I'm just waiting for a few more people," Aang replied. "We're still missing Mai and…uh…MONKEY FEATHERS!" Aang cursed. He hit his forehead on one of the cave walls. Toph laughed as did Zuko. "Never mind, we're only missing Mai," he stated, pulling his now violet shaded head away from the wall.

"I haven't seen her since _this morning_," Zuko said, using his words in a different manner so he didn't have a repeat of Sokka's dirty Water Tribe mind. Sokka still sniggered at him, but he stayed a lot quieter than he did earlier. Aang didn't catch on, so he gave Toph and Azula a confused look.

"Don't worry about it, Twinkle Toes," Toph sighed. Aang gave her a faint smile before he looked over at Katara who was still glaring at them. It made Zuko wonder how long she could stand her face muscles contracting. "So, Sugar Queen…how's the kid coming?"

"…Huh?" Katara seemed to have been snapped out of a trance, her face full of shock. She looked at Toph for a moment before replying with, "Good, I guess. Yugoda said it's pretty healthy, though she's not absolutely sure since she can't reach it very well with Waterbending."

"Any expectations?" Aang blushed at this. For some reason, Aang was very touchy on the whole topic about his and Katara's kid. He had been gradually starting to flush until just then when he turned bright pink. Zuko sniggered and Sokka made a weird noise that was something between a sneer and a snort, but Toph merely smirked and Azula stayed quiet.

"Well, Yugoda says that it's probably a girl because I'm getting a lot more moody than Yugoda expected I would've been," Katara started. "But I think it's a boy…I'm not sure why, I just think it is. What about you Aang?" Aang snapped his attention to her. "You never told me what you think it is."

"I, uh…" Aang shrugged, nervously. "I don't really know."

"You know a surefire way to figure out?" Toph asked, smirking. Katara quirked an eyebrow and almost reluctantly shook her head "no" while Aang burned an even brighter red and looked away. "C'mere, Sugar Queen."

"Um…OK," Katara responded, walking over to the Melon Lord who had that same smirk on her face from previous times. When she finally reached the Earthbender, she was on not-so-steady ground, meaning she looked like she was about to take off if Toph did something.

"Stop panicking, Queeny," Toph said, her smirk dropping. "I'm not going to hurt you or the kid." This eased Katara a little, but she still looked like she was about to run. Toph reached her hand out which immediately contacted with the Waterbender's enlarged stomach. Katara quirked an eyebrow, but the next second she was trying to restrain a giggle for Toph's hand was probing abdomen skin with the tips of her fingers, sending a tingly feeling down her spine…but not in a bad way. It tickled.

"Wha—what are…you doing?!" Katara asked, still trying to retrain from laughing. Toph had a smirk on her face…one that told Zuko that she thought everyone was being blind rather than the other way around. This confused everyone to no end, but her reason was soon clear.

"I'm trying to pick up a vibration from the kid…If I'm lucky, I might be able to tell if what gender it is," Toph explained. "But there's no way in hell that I'll be able to if you don't stop laughing, damn it, Sugar Queen!"

"Sooooo…wanna go play a little game?" Sokka inquired as he slid over to Zuko so no one else could hear him. Zuko knew it would a bad idea to follow him, but it would be better than listening to all this baby talk. So, he gladly yet reluctantly accepted.

* * *

All Azula heard was talking. She wasn't listening, but oh did she hear them. She heard talk of babies and surprises, but she didn't mind any of theses subjects any attention. Her mind was somewhere else, unfortunately. Lost somewhere in her imagination and the talking going on in her head. The only thing she could do was hold herself up and subconsciously nod or follow Zuko, almost by instinct it seemed.

_Why are you here, Azula? You could easily overpower the Water Tribe Chief's son…so why won't you? _The Princess had spoken to this certain voice too many times for her own good. The Blue Dragon…the Cold-Blooded Flame…Whatever you wanted to call him, he was there somewhere deep in the paranoid royal's head. Unwavering against the medical and mental help and aids. Powerful.

_Because her pride's in the way. She's surrendered humbly now, you know that! Plus, there are too many powerful benders here to even try that! Don't listen to him, Azula._ And there he was…the red dragon. She hadn't spoken to him much, but he was always there. Talking in riddles and trying to give advice to the ignorant Princess. If there was one thing Azula knew about him was that he was almost constantly arguing with the Blue One.

"C'mon, Azula." Oh yes, she heard her brother. She knew what to do instinctively – follow him as he says. She obeyed, not paying any attention to unleveled ground beneath her as the Fire Lord pulled her along with her petite, bony hand laid limply in his big, warm one. She was still unsure why she allowed him to get as close as he did to her.

_Now's your chance! Drown him! _the Blue One commanded as they got within the water's reach. Azula ignored the voice as she felt the cool liquid rush under her now bare feet. Her golden eyes started lifelessly at the sun high in the sky. She ignored the bickering between the two in her head. But then it occurred to her…Why did she listen to _either_ of them? Shouldn't she be able to make her own decisions? Or was that one of the perks of being a princess? Being plagued with inward arguing and voices to which are always conflicting?

Suddenly, her head started throbbing along with her heart which was unusually fast. It startled her which only picked the beating up even faster…and that meant her head was throbbing faster and unfortunately louder. Her brain felt constricted, but the Princess figured it was just a headache and continued to get even deeper into the subject.

Why couldn't she ever just listen to her own thoughts for once? Why was there constant fighting in her head? Was there even a way she could stop it? So many questions attacked her mind. This worsened the headache to the point everyone was too loud for her and she even considered knocking herself out. Every time her head throbbed, everything that was making a sound intensified and she felt her ears start to hurt.

"Azula? Are you alright?" She ignored him. She was too busy trying to shut the voices in her head up. The Blue One was telling her to stop rebelling against them, but the Red One was telling her to keep on thinking about it. The Blue One made her feel like she was restricted, so she rebelled against his orders. Either to piss him off or to get the satisfaction of not following his orders, she didn't know.

_You're a failure, Azula! _the Blue One's venomous voice ripped through all the thoughts in her head. Failure was such a strong word…Had she really used that one on her brother so many times? Even if she hadn't and she was still asleep the night their mother left…she knew how it felt to be called one now. She felt tears sting her eyes, but she physically brushed them away with the back of her hand.

"Azula?" Suddenly, her vision split. She became dizzy and tried to stay upright, but she was trying in vain. For soon, her eyelids had drooped shut and she had fallen forward. She was going to hit the ground if Sokka hadn't grabbed her last moment while Zuko hadn't even seen her tip over as he was looking at Aang who was talking to him long distance.

The rebellious and failure thoughts flew through her head in one last attempt for their own causes, but she didn't catch any of it. Before she completely lost it, she saw a red blur approach her and the peasant, already knowing who it was. The Princess of the Fire Nation fainted in the arms of the Southern Peasant, though he was the son of the chief.

* * *

_Kill him. Kill your brother and all those unworthy peasants. Maybe your father will have mercy on you if you avenge his defeat with the death of that overly emotional Avatar, yes? Well, maybe…We'll have to see, but first you must finish the deed!_

_No, Azula! Don't listen to the Blue One! He will lead you down the same path you've gone down already. I know you don't want to go through that all again, Dear. If you listen to him, you will certainly be executed or at least put in the Boiling Rock, perhaps. Please, Azula. Don't do it. _

_You really listen to him? The naïve bastard is making you weak!_

_Weakness is not knowing when to accept defeat, Azula. The Blue One hasn't. If you listen to him, you will be following a weak tyrant. Lost in his control, you will be a faceless victim to the Madness. Don't do it. Dear, you know what the right choice is. Now choose it if you have any sanity left within you._

_SHUT UP! THE TWO OF YOU! Leave me be, damn it!_

* * *

Sokka sighed as he looked down at the Princess. Practically everyone was in the room, even Katara who had seemingly got over Zuko letting Azula out of prison for the time being. Zuko was right beside Azula, concern and worry lacing his features. He sat with his elbows on the edge of Azula's bed, his arms holding his head up so he could watch over his sister.

Toph was right next to him, although confusion was the only emotion on her face. Her arms crossed on the bed, she seemed to be bored but strangely intrigued with the Princess's slowly descending heartbeats and breathing though both were muffled thanks to the bedding. She was waiting, but no one knew just what she was waiting _for_.

Then, there Sokka sat, at the foot of the large bed. He wasn't even sure what he was thinking or feeling at the moment, but, for his unknown reasons, he couldn't take his eyes off of the Princess's face. It was usually calm or determined…at least confident, but no…not now. Now, it was frustrated and solemn…possibly angry if he looked at it in a certain angle.

Katara sat next to him at the corner on the bed, grabbing onto his arm closest to her for her own reasons. He knew she was feeling mixed emotions and she probably needed something to latch on to, be he was still very annoyed whenever she would 'accidentally' yank his arm. Her hand would occasionally trail to her stomach, but he hardly paid any mind to that unless she made him.

Aang was sitting next to Katara on the opposite side as Zuko, though he wasn't hardly as close to the paranoid Princess as her brother was. He looked fairly concerned considering he had fought her multiple times and lost one of them, resulting in his death. His eyes hardly ever left the sleeping royal, except to glance at Katara when she moved or to look at anyone who started talking which was proving to be scarce in the room.

The Fire Lord suddenly sighed either impatiently or frustratingly, no one knew since Zuko wasn't very careful about how his different sighs sounded. The sudden sound brought everyone but the Melon Lord's and Azula's eyes to the uneasy Lord. Sokka seemed to take this as a chance to get out of the room which was even now filling with awkward looks.

"Well, I think I'm going to go out to town…for, uh, you know…stuff," he, oh so casually and inconspicuously, as he approached the door. Katara made a weird noise and got to her feet, apparently going with her brother. They left the room with weird looks pointed towards them, besides Toph who hadn't changed during the past two hours or so that they'd been watching over Zuko's sister. Sokka's interruption had brought up a few topics Toph couldn't resist asking, though.

"What's wrong with her anyway?" she asked, lifting her head to put it in Zuko's direction. He remained silent and for a moment Toph thought he ignored her. He finally shrugged with an exasperated look on his face…it was almost somber if Aang had looked at him the right way.

"Well," Aang started. His hand reached out and rested on Azula's forehead. He frowned, but he pulled a cheesy smile over it. "Her fever's gone down a little…but that's probably because of the rag you put on her head," he added, looking at Zuko who remained silent.

"What's wrong with you, Sparky?" The minute those words left her mouth, she knew she had said the wrong thing. Anyone could've taken it as offensive if they thought about it in a crappy mood…but Zuko was obviously past crappy and somewhere in the region known as "explosive angst under stress."

"What's wrong with me?" he asked, looking down at her from under his bangs. Toph frowned and grabbed his hand, but he didn't return the gesture although he did understand her silent apology. And with that, he looked back to Azula. No one was exactly sure why Zuko was taking it all the wrong way, but Toph and Aang guessed that he was a little overprotective of Azula at the moment. That, plus some other issues at hand.

There was another long awkward silence and everyone in the room figured it was going to be another hour or so before it disappeared. But they were proven wrong when a servant walked into the room…or rather charged in, if you were looking at the door when he did.

"Sire, an urgent letter for you and the Princess," he gasped out, handing the Fire Lord a scroll before darting out of the room. Zuko stared at the scroll in his hands for a couple moments before he looked up at Azula who was still in a sweaty coma. He stared at her for a couple _more _minutes before he finally rolled the parchment open.

"What's it say?" Toph asked, nosily. Zuko didn't reply right away, seeing as he was still trying to read it. Before long, he handed it over to Aang who read it gratefully after getting a confirmation from the Fire Lord. The Melon Lord was displeased with no answer.

"It's from Ty Lee," Zuko stated.

"…You mean Bubbles?" Toph inquired. Zuko looked at her strangely, but finally answered positively though reluctantly. "What does she want? And why's the letter so 'urgent?' But more importantly, what does it have to do with Psychopath?" Zuko chuckled.

"Toph, relax with the questions," he commanded in a laid-back tone. "I asked her if she would like to come and visit with Azula since…well, you know. And she said she'd 'love to' or whatever she said in the letter…I'm not quite sure why it was so urgent, but it lightened my mood a little."

"Oh, you noticed you were acting like an asshole?" Toph asked. Zuko glared at her and shoved her lightly on the arm before laughing quietly while Toph sneered at him. "Just asking, Sparks, didn't have to harm a lady."

"Lady?" he snorted. "Toph, you're the farthest thing from a 'lady' that anyone could get!" he exclaimed. The Melon Lord stayed quiet for a moment before snorting and practically crying from laughing too hard too fast. Zuko chuckled.

"Okay, so," Aang started, handing the scroll back. "Did you ask Azula if she wanted Ty Lee over? I know she probably doesn't really have a choice in all this, but forcing her to do _anything _could be the wrong thing to do if you don't do it the right way."

"I'm pretty sure she won't mind too much," Zuko said, looking down at Azula. "If she's even awake when Ty Lee gets here." Aang pursed his lips at Zuko's negativity. "I think she just needs to find herself first," he continued. "But I have no clue how long that will take or if she even finds herself before the fever takes her."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked, genuinely curious. Zuko looked up.

"I mean that this fever could be deadly…especially to her since she's too weak at the moment," he explained, looking back down at Azula. He brushed a sweaty lock out of his sister's face before adjusting the blanket covering her. Aang's face showed a sign of panic for a moment, but he smiled faintly when he saw the Fire Lord's actions.

"I'm pretty sure she'll make it if you stay with her," Aang said. Toph snorted and said something about him being too 'cheesy', but Zuko merely smiled, not taking his eyes off of Azula. "She probably just needs someone there to watch out for her and give her confidence and support…and you've already done that for her."

"…But what if it's not enough?" he asked, pessimistically.

"It is enough, Zuko," Aang said, firmly. "Azula is the luckiest person I know to have a brother like you. I know you two didn't get along too well in the past, but you're making up for it _now_. And that's what makes you such a good person. I'd be happy to have a brother like you."

"…You know, in a way, we are sort of related," Zuko chuckled. Aang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Azula momentarily. "Not that way. But technically you are related to Roku, right?" Aang nodded, skeptically. "He's my great-grandfather…besides Sozin, but still."

"…That's…unexpected," Aang stated, awkwardly.

"No kidding."

* * *

Azula's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she noticed was how light yet so heavy hearted she felt. It was a strange and unusual sensation in the Princess. As she slowly sat up, she noticed that she was no longer in the Palace Grounds. In fact, she noticed almost immediately that she was on Ember Island. However she got there, she didn't know.

"Azula…Come, find me." Azula looked behind her, but she only found waves. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and frustration as a cold sweat over took her. She didn't have a clue as to where she actually was since it was quite obvious to her that she wasn't really on Ember Island. Despite her confusion, her curiosity forced her to get to her feet.

"What the hell—" The earth suddenly shook, cutting off the Princess. The earthquake knocked her over which infuriated her even past her frustration. She stayed down so as not to fall over again, but within moments she was even more disturbed. By then, the shaking had only increased. Azula sighed, irritably, and tried to forget her frustration. The second she finally managed it, she noticed the earthquake stop.

"Azula, learn and react to this world." Azula pursed her lips at the same voice from earlier. She sighed and got to her feet, tiredly. All she knew was that if she had to react and learn about 'this world' then she would probably be out of 'this world' by the time she got truly frustrated beyond relief. But she wasn't quite positive that would happen.

She was just trying to be positive.


	11. Trail of Broken Memories

**A/N:**** I'm terribly sorry for the update lag! I just got over a major case of writers' block! That much I'm proud of. Never once before have I purposely gotten over a block. But anyhow. I rather like this one. Now, I know, I know, you think Azula would remember some of this stuff (I'm not saying what right here, you might get spoiled!) but I'll explain that through story in the next chapter. Just be patient and you shall be rewarded. And now, just some comments for this chapter: Ozai is a bitch. 'Nuff said. **

* * *

"You _will_ tell me where my mother is!" Zuko roared, nearly getting his head stuck between the bars. Behind said bars sat a smirking used-to-be Fire Lord…now everyone just refers to him as the Cage Lord. Zuko had questioned his father for information about Ursa, but he only got stupid responses like "I can't tell you" or "I only speak to prisoners."

"I'm sorry, but I have no memory of this 'mother' you refer to," Ozai responded, a smug smile on his face. Zuko growled, but he pulled himself away from the bars, trying to retain his temper. He took in a deep breath and regained his posture on the floor before looking the man he called 'father' in the eyes once more. Although definitely determined for the moment, Ozai's eyes seemed to have dulled from the prison.

"Princess Ursa. You know who she is," he said, narrowing his eyes. "You were married to her for Agni knows how long." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before regaining his position once more. "I know you don't know where she is at the moment, but you know where she went! Now tell me!"

"So sorry, Fire Lord, but I still don't know this 'Ursa' you speak of," Ozai said, mockingly. Zuko glowered at him, but he held his posture anyhow. "Maybe you should ask the Warden." He faked a smile so disgustingly sweet, if Zuko even dared to call it that, it made the Fire Lord accidentally gag.

"You're sick," Zuko stated, disgusted.

"And you're a traitor," Ozai shot back, smirking. Zuko's eye twitched.

"I only hope you know what you're doing, _Father_," Zuko said, getting to his feet. The Cage Lord didn't say a word as his son approached the door to his cell. The Fire Lord turned at the last minute to glance at the wreck of a father, but the next minute he was out of the room with the door locked behind him.

**--**

Azula lay, appearing to be calm to some point of sanity. No one knew what was going on through her head, not even Ty Lee who had arrived just the morning before, the day after Azula had fainted. Zuko thought he had a clue what was happening to her, but his eyes would tell him nothing of the inner turmoil that was tormenting his little sister. Toph seemed to hardly care, but she did hang around Azula a lot more than she did when she was conscious (Zuko figured it was because Azula was a little on the mean side even after her miraculous changes, so Toph visited her when she couldn't say anything back.)

The Princess wanted to wake up, she really did. But for some reason, just before she finally wakes up (for this is happened maybe ten times) through constant struggling…a memory comes by and drags her back to a deep sleep by the collar. She couldn't remember how maybe times she had tried to awake from the strange world she was in and she really didn't want to for fear of losing her determination to leave the hell-like world she was in.

Her mind was becoming an almost alien thing to her now. One moment she would be on 'Ember Island' then the next she would be just barely aware that she was in her bed and she would listen to whoever was talking. She knew who was talking every single time, but for some reason her mind wouldn't allow her to recall his name. Then a memory would assault her for a moment or so before she had time to look it over and she would wake up on the shores of Ember Island, as though she was starting over every time she got distracted.

Currently, Azula was in her old room in the beach house. Everything had a dull glow to it because she could hardly remember every little thing in there. The one thing she did remember, however, was the picture of her and Zuko hanging on the wall. She was staring at it, as though in a trance. Zuko had a huge grin on his face with his arm draped around her, while she had an embarrassed look on her face as she looked at the painter awkwardly.

The princess shivered as she remembered the tingling feeling that went down her spine every time someone so much as touched her nowadays. She even felt it when she was on Ember Island for she was still connected to her body though she could've sworn she was actually walking around in her mind's image of Ember Island. She wasn't used to people being so close, but she realized she was getting used to it even as she slept for she wasn't surprised when who she knew to be Zuko brushed her hair out of her face or held her hand.

Azula sighed as she realized she would have to keep moving to stay from being distracted by meaningless paintings. But as she went to leave she glanced back at her brother's unscarred, beaming face and let a faint smile tug at her lips. Maybe that one particular picture wasn't so meaningless. It remained as it was for the past thirteen years but as Azula's presence left it smeared back into the guise of the walls, never to be looked upon once more. For that certain beach house had burned to the ground one night a year or so ago and with it went any worthy possessions.

"Alright, Mysterious One," Azula started, glancing about herself as she stepped onto the sand. The sun was up as it always was in her strange world. But even stranger, no one was there besides the insane Princess. But as Azula started to ponder why she hadn't been hallucinating, she heard someone yell. It was familiar but distant, like the long gone footsteps in the sand, washed away by the ocean's greedy hand.

"Lovely. Just as I realize I'm not hallucinating, here comes one of those screwy freaks now," she sighed, annoyed. She turned her head to look at whoever had yelled and was surprised to see a little boy about six years of age lying on the ground, holding his knee. The scene was almost too familiar for her to handle, but even with all her senses going haywire…all she did was watch.

"_Zu-Zu!"_ Azula started at the voice. It was young and innocent, but there was something about it that made her think something was going down. But as she continued to stare at the little boy cry on the ground, a little girl ran up to him and immediately rolled him over so he was on his back.

"What…?" Azula asked the atmosphere. It was then that she realized why the scene was so familiar. That little boy happened to be a six-year-old Zuko and that little girl happened to be a four-year-old Azula. Azula remembered clearly what had happened that day. They had been playing tag. Zuko ran down the side of the hill and when he turned to look at his sister, a ball flew from practically nowhere and knocked him down the rest of the hill. He smashed his knee on a rock and, thanks to his still-developing bones, the overgrown pebble broke it.

Azula stared, dumbstruck. She watched as her younger self started to cry at the sight of her older brother's pain. But, as the teenaged Azula knew would happened, the tears stopped completely when she saw his knee—a bone was jutting out of his skin. And then they picked up again, far heavier than before. Zuko appeared to have cut himself almost completely off from his pain for he was giving the little girl a warm smile through his fallen tears.

Azula, too confused and emotional to continue watching, turned her head towards the ocean. She heard Zuko mutter things through his pain. Things like, _"It doesn't hurt that bad, 'Zula"_ or, _"I think I'd like to have a word with that rock."_ The first remark only made little Azula cry even more for she thought he was dying, but the second one made her giggle though the tears still came freely.

Then, as Azula knew to be, Zuko finally told little Azula to go get Mom. Little Azula pouted, but did as told. It was then Azula took a glance at her brother. He seemed so calm, but Azula realized that her mind was making it up for she had no clue what he was doing when she went to go get Ursa. She looked away and finally walked down the hill, wanting to leave her memories behind.

As she walked back down to the shore line, she started to feel dizzy. She knew she was on the verge of waking up again so she focused on that feeling in her head. Before long she felt the mattress beneath her clearly, but she could still feel the sand underneath her feet as well.

"_C'mon, Azula…"_ Azula listened to the voice, unsurprised, and recognized it as her brother's immediately. But the next one caught her completely off guard. She couldn't understand what the girl said at all, but she recognized it. It was perky, but there was a speck of worry and concern in it as well, while her brother's voice was low and raspy and held much more obvious concern. It was then that Azula started to wonder who was in the room. The voices stopped from thereon out.

Azula took in a deep breath and moved her hand against the sheets. She heard the girl gasp and say something excitedly, but she was immediately shot down by her brother who said something like "this happens all the time now, don't get too excited." Azula got a disappointed feeling in her gut as some part of her conscience told her that if she's always on the verge of waking up then how would she ever truly come around?

But unbeknownst to the sleeping Princess, her disappointed feeling soon turned into determination. She bit her lip and held her breath as she tried to open her eyes. She felt a small hand cover hers and a shock wave flow through her as she recognized who the girl was. But she ignored it and focused on waking up. A groan escaped her lips and she suddenly realized she did it; she finally woke up!

Her eyes slid open with little effort, but still more than she had liked. The first person she saw was Zuko who had a shocked look on his face. Her eyes traveled over to where the hand on her own was coming from…Ty Lee. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she looked over the girl; her hair was in a braid, as usual, but it was in the style that she had it when they had taken the persona of the Kyoshi Warriors and she was wearing the green kimono that was normally placed under the armor. Azula immediately realized she wasn't wearing her face paint.

Leaving that matter alone, she allowed her heavy eyes to drift back to her brother who was smiling slightly now. She took in a deep breath and shut her eyes momentarily before she opened them again and tried to ask how long she'd been unconscious, but all that came out was a slight raspy noise rattling in the back of her throat as her voice box struggled to start working after Agni knows how long it's been out of use. Great. If it wasn't just weariness and utter exhaustion, she wasn't even capable of using her own voice! _What a rip-off…_

Zuko put his finger to his lips, signaling his sister to speak none, before he reached out and put his hand on her forehead.

At the contact, Azula jumped but the next moment found herself back on Ember Island. As she stared almost stupidly at the sand under her feet, she felt anger rising inside her. As it bubbled up, she felt the ground beneath her start to shake as another earthquake took hold. She was knocked over by the shaking and that utterly ticked her off. She groaned angrily, the earthquake intensified. Her frustration was starting to really anger her this time and she _didn't_ want to let it go, not even if a _volcano_ erupted from the stupid earthquake. She had woken up from her coma for what seemed like two seconds before she passed out after believing that she would be able to stay awake; her hope had been yanked out from right underneath her nose. Tears came to her eyes.

"Is it too much to ask to just wake the hell up?!" she yelled to the sky. A sob came to her lips as she started to wonder if she'd ever really wake up for even an acceptable amount of time. She collapsed to the ground hopelessly, sobbing quietly into the sand, wishing almost depressingly to wake up — to at least stay awake — and foremost, for her own sanity.

**--**

Zuko bit his lip as he mulled over the past events, hand on his sister's forehead. He had thought she might wake up for good that time, but it all seemed to be a sham. He didn't know whether it was because of her sickness or the fact that she had seen Ty Lee so close so soon that she had fallen back into her coma. The moment his hand had contacted her forehead, her eyes twitched before shutting as a tarrying rasp escaped her lips. That utterly scared Ty Lee for the most part and she spent the next five minutes behind Zuko's chair as he felt for her temperature and heart beat, to make sure she wasn't having a stroke of any sort.

"Is she okay?" Ty Lee asked, concerned. Zuko pursed his lips. Azula's fever was worsening as the seconds passed, her temperature rising alarmingly fast. If she didn't recover in time, she could very well _die_ where she lay. The young Fire Lord could only imagine what might happen to him if he let that happen. His sister had recovered from most of her trust issues and her sanity was staying for a lot longer than it used to, though her insanity was never far off, and he was even beginning to like having her around him compared to the old days when he couldn't even stand her being in the same household as him. He'd be flooded with regret and anger and probably a lot of stress and sadness if she passed away any time soon…She just couldn't. Not when she was making such progress.

"…I'm not sure," he finally choked out, his voice sounding relatively fragile.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Ty Lee asked as she sat down on the edge of Azula's bed. She gave him a stern look as she searched his eyes for answers. He bit his lip and looked back down at his sister, trying to avoid the acrobat's gaze. He sighed and put his hand back over her forehead, this time not checking for temperature as much as he was just trying to be there for her. "…I'll go get Mai," she said solemnly, finally noticing the position the Princess was in by the Fire Lord's silence, before sprinting out of the room leaving Zuko with his little sister.

"Right," he sighed, gazing down at Azula's sweaty face. His eyebrows furrowed. The tables had turned. Just a couple days ago his sister had been in a somewhat stable condition and even before that she had seemed perfectly fine, the exception being her insanity of course. But in a few moments she had gone from better to worst case scenario. The Fire Lord chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment as he contemplated his sister's outcomes before he leaned down and landed a shy peck to Azula's forehead. He looked at her struggling features for a moment before whispering, "I love you."

**--**

_Come on, Azula, pull yourself together! _the Princess commanded herself as she continued to sob almost helplessly into the sand. Her sobs had died down quite a lot, but she was still in obvious despair about the whole ordeal. The earthquake had died down after getting to such intensity that it actually started to knock the Princess around every few seconds. One last sniff echoed around the silent island as Azula finally grasped back onto her composure. She sat up and the earthquake stopped..

"_I love you."_

"Zuko?" she muttered. Remembering that he had been there with her earlier helped her realize that he was probably still there, sitting next to her bedside. She sighed and got to her feet shakily. Surprisingly, she hadn't been moved back to the shore line. No, she was just at the mountains' side about a fourth of a mile away from the beach house. How much longer would it be until she finally reached whatever it was she was looking for? And how many more times would the earthquakes pop up out of nowhere, leaving her rather frustrated?

"Earthquakes," she muttered a tone of realization in her voice. It all appeared to her before her determined yet broken mind; her world was merely reacting to her emotions. Had she not realized before now that the earthquakes only showed up when she was angry or frustrated? Agni, she'd been so oblivious! A smirk came to her face. She had learned. Now she needed to react. But how to react to one's emotions? Block them off?

_No_, Azula snapped. That's how she'd been before her life turned for the worse; a seemingly emotionless, heartless witch. No, cutting her emotions off would not work out too well again. But what else could she do? Deal with the somehow and find a brighter side to the things she was angry and frustrated about? That seemed rather stupid to her even with a good point; she just couldn't see herself completely letting go of a lot of the things that she had been though. That just seemed like walking away after someone purposely tried to drown you in your own bath tub.

"Maybe I could learn to understand them…" She trailed off, looking around thoughtfully. She rather liked that one. She didn't have to forget her emotions or learn to let the things go that caused the bad ones, merely try to understand why that certain emotion took over her and try to keep it under control while not exactly hiding it or forgetting it; just not letting them get out of control. The Princess smiled.

A laugh suddenly interrupted her victory. It was a feminine laugh, familiar and striking the chords of her memory. She looked over her shoulder and saw her mother, still young and in her royal beach robes as she sat in the sand a couple feet away from Zuko who was talking about something. Azula bit her lip. A second later she heard her own childish laugh as a little girl came running down to the ocean. She tripped on a rock and face planted into the ground. There was a moment of silence before she broke out into a loud sobbing session. Ursa immediately got to her feet and rushed over to her daughter while Zuko stared on, oblivious.

"_Azula, stop crying,"_ she instructed as she pulled Azula up. There was another sob as the child mistook her mother's tone in an angry and unhappy one. _"You're alright. Just a little tumble."_ The little Azula sniffed and nodded and just as she was going to embrace her mother, Zuko cried out in pain. Ursa jumped to her feet and ran back towards her son, leaving her daughter behind…

Azula's eyes narrowed and she turned away, emotionless. As she walked she couldn't help but wonder where all these memories were coming from. Of course they were _her_ memories after all, but only now do they decide to show up completely against her own desires? The only answer she could find, or rather make up for she just couldn't understand and wanted to leave the question with an answer even if it might be wrong, was that the mind was a delicate and complex thing. That led her to another thought, of course, which led into an in-depth conversation with herself. She found she didn't even know what she was talking about not more than a moment after she realized what she was doing. _Complex…Right…_

"And where the hell am I _going_?" she asked herself out loud. To that she merely shrugged and continued walking off to Agni knows where. If she had a clue where she was going she wouldn't be talking to herself anyway. Better to leave things unfold for themselves than get rolled up with them.

And there that laugh was again. Azula fought the urge to look out of curiosity, but she was eventually won over and turned her head the slightest bit to the side so she could see. And there they were. But not only were Ursa and Zuko there, so were Ty Lee and Mai. Ty Lee was doing a bunch of flips, flexibly bending her tiny body over and over again, while Mai sat off to the side with Zuko and Ursa not too far off. Azula's young form was standing the closest to the acrobat with a competitive look on her face. It didn't take long for the teenager to realize she was going to hurt someone, even herself. As she pondered what would happen, she realized she couldn't remember this certain memory.

So, the Princess watched silently as her smaller form stated some snarky comment about how easy it was to do what little Ty Lee had just done before she held her hands up and easily rolled a few cartwheels. But then as she was going in for the last couple flips, she stumbled and fell _hard _on her wrist. A loud crack made Azula wince. There was a moment of utter silence from everyone before Ursa rushed forward while Zuko and Ty Lee stood around not two feet away from the little girl. But little Azula didn't even scream; she pushed her mother away easily and glared at Ty Lee before looking down at her wrist. It was limp and there was something irregular pushing against her skin from the inside. It was only then that a tear fell down her cheek. Ursa swooped down next to her and wiped the tear away before grabbing hold of the girl's arm and looking at it, gently prodding with her fingers while little Azula just pouted and continued glaring at the acrobat who was now constantly muttering apologies even though she had done nothing.

"Well, that was stupid," Azula scoffed. _I forgot how competitive I was…_

"Azula." The Princess jumped at the clarity of the voice before turning around a bit reluctantly. Her brow furrowed in confusion as the strangest sight met her eyes. "Well done. You've found me."

* * *

**HAHA! CLIFFHANGER! Though I'm not sure if it much of one and it wasn't even that intentional either ^^; I just couldn't think of anything when I wrote that part. I'll have it thought up by the next chapter though. Chillax.**


	12. PLEASE READ! VERY IMPORTANT!

_Hey, guys._

Please, read this! Just read what I have to say. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

I know I let a lot of you guys down when I decided to drop this story (some of you weren't even aware of it), but I just wanted to tell you all some things. This story is one of the oldest stories on my computer, so naturally it wasn't anything close to my best work. It bothered me. I screwed the plot up and twisted and bent Azula so much that she really didn't seem like Azula anymore. That's why I quit. Also, I had been hit by a disease-like case of writers block and I couldn't get around it for nearly a year or so.I'm over it now, Thank God, but it was far too long to be able to pick this story back up even if I wanted to.

Recently, I haven't really had anything interesting to write about. I thought about this story and how many people enjoyed it even if I didn't like the way I had constructed it. Even despite, it was my pride and joy not so long ago. I remembered getting all of your fabulous reviews and how I would read them 10 times over again because I couldn't believe how anyone could be so nice or how much anyone could enjoy something so much. I loved it. I worked myself very hard for all of you guys, and I don't regret it. But that's not really the point.

Here's what I've been meaning to say:

**I'm going to remake this story.**

It's still going to be an Azula-redemption story, however it won't be anywhere near the same. Not so much useless fluff, more drama, better cliffhangers, hopefully I'll be able to get characters down more seamlessly, and the plot won't twist the characters so much that they'll lose their essence entirely.

All in all, I think it will be a huge success, especially if you all support me as well as you did previously. I'd appreciate it.

Also, I'd like to thank you guys for being so kind in your reviews. I'm terribly sorry for making you wait for so long. Forgive me?

_Lots of love_,

**iSnapple**


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